Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) welcomed the vessel “Mv Queen Mary 2” yesterday at a brief ceremony held at the Colombo harbour. The luxury carrier, owned by a UK-based company, had over 2300 tourists on board from USA, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada.

The local excursion tour operator Gemini Tours and Travels was thereafter busy taking tourists to the prearranged destinations; Kandy, Pinnawala and Colombo City Tour. By 11 p.m. today, the vessel is scheduled to leave for Malaysia, its next destination.

“Mv Queen Mary 2” has 13 decks inclusive of a stateof-the-art swimming pools, auditorium, theater, gymnasium, restaurants, casino, saloon, spa center and 1300 luxury rooms.

Having set sail from the USA on January 10 this year, the vessel was berthed at Cochin, India, just before resuming its journey to Colombo.

According to the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) officials, more than 27 such luxury carriers had already been programmed to tie up in Colombo by the end of 2013.