Travel bloggers experience SriLankan Airlines flight simulator

In yet another of its numerous efforts to promote Sri Lanka as a global tourism destination of choice, SriLankan Airlines welcomed participants to the Cinnamon Travel Bloggers Conference Asia & Awards 2016 by giving more than 40 bloggers a thrilling experience on the flight deck of an Airbus A330 Full Flight Simulator at Bandaranaike International Airport. The bloggers and their families experienced simulated landings at airports of their choice around the world such as Shanghai and Katmandu, in the 100% realistic Full Flight Simulator including the thrill of sitting in the pilots’ seats. The airline operates two Full Flight Simulators at BIA for training of its own and other airlines’ pilots in flying A330 and A320 aircraft. SriLankan Airlines is the Official Airline of Cinnamon TBCasia 2016, which is organized by Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts in collaboration with the Professional Travel Bloggers Association. More than 60 travel bloggers from around the world are attending the event from 2-7 June at the Cinnamon Lakeside in Colombo. The bloggers, who are experts in a wide range of social media, shared their feedback and advice on how Sri Lanka’s travel trade and SriLankan Airlines can boost global awareness of the unique experiences awaiting travelers. “Service on board SriLankan Airlines was definitely amazing. It’s quite clear that SriLankan focuses very heavily on customer service. The food on board the SriLankan flight he took from Frankfurt was excellent, and the inflight entertainment was also great. But Sri Lanka should market itself more as a destination in France,” said Kylia Matjabo, a travel blogger from Paris. “It was so nice to fly direct to Colombo from Paris. Many airlines flying to Asia from Europe have a layover in the Middle East which can be very tiring,” added Greg Snell, a travel blogger from Toronto, Canada. The bloggers were also given a presentation on SriLankan Airlines’ wide range of products and services, before being treated to some fine cuisine by SriLankan Catering. Antoine Roozen, who accompanied his wife Monika, a professional travel blogger based in Sweden, said his family thoroughly enjoyed the simulator experience. “It’s rare to get an opportunity to visit a cockpit nowadays and going on the simulator was exciting, especially for the kids,” he said. “Sri Lanka certainly provides a fantastic experience for any traveler. Very pleasantly surprised by Sri Lanka. We visited Kandy and Nuwara Eliya and found them both to be extremely charming, especially ‘Little England’,” said Dr. Mathew McDougall, CEO of Digital Jungle, who was one of the resource persons for the conference. Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts provided participants in the conference with many enchanting experiences of Sri Lanka during their stay, including visits to Anuradhapura, Habarana, Sigiriya, Minneriya National Park, Dambulla, Polonnaruwa, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Galle. (Media Release)