May 08, Colombo: The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) announced that it has selected Dubai as the base for its Middle East Headquarters as part of its efforts to consolidate on the strong growth from the region which increased by 80.6% in first quarter of 2008.

The announcement was made on the opening day of Arabian Travel Market 2008, the Middle East's premier travel and tourism event in Dubai.

The Dubai office will be the 6th office in SLTPB’s international network of overseas offices which includes the United Kingdom, India, Germany, France and Russia.

“The opening of an office in Dubai underlines a crucial aspect of our long-term approach to develop powerful ties and build effective partnerships across the region,” said Faiszer Mustapha, Deputy Minister of Tourism for Sri Lanka.

Mustapha remarked that the SLTPB has chosen Dubai as it ranks as the commercial and tourist heart of the Arabian Gulf region and has a historical trading tradition that continues, as the city has developed into a regional hub.

“The Emirate offers Sri Lanka with an ideal gateway for attracting tourists from the Middle East and is politically stable, crime-free, pro-business and liberal,” he added.

“We have taken many factors into consideration before deciding on Dubai including its strategic location, free enterprise system, first-rate air transport links, well-developed business Infrastructure, state-of-the-art-telecommunications and sophisticated support services,” said SLTPB Managing Director, Dileep Mudadeniya.