Category: Tourism

Modeled on the likes of top branded resorts like Banyan Tree, Jetwing Hotels is revamping its hotels and spas into three core brands endash Eco, Ayurveda and beach holidays.The group is making a determined shift up-market, in efforts to lure the discerning high spenders with more than just the best package deal.rn rnldblquote In the […]

Sri Lankan aviation authorities have cleared Abu Dhabi based industry newcomer, Etihad Airways to fly daily to Colombo from March 03.Area Manager for Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Kumar de Silva says Etihad will take off with three weekly fights to Colombo with the main stray of initial sales coming from the migrant labour population.rn […]

Waving in traffic from the web, the Tourist Board will try to lure elusive travelers from the US, Canada and Australia, with a portal for online transactions. The three markets together account for just over 40,000 tourists of the half a million that visited the country last year, with no focused promotions in these areas […]

Conglomerate Hemas Holdings delved deeper into the tourism sector on Monday to pick up a 47 percent slice in Associated Hotels, the owning company of Lihiniya Surf Hotel.Veteran hotelier George Ondaatjies Mercantile Investment Group had sold his entire 2.6 mn parcel at Rs. 40 per share.rn rnThe family controlled companys core strengths lie in health […]

The Galle Face Hotel will leap into modernity in grand old style, revamping itself as a luxury lifestyle experience that also comes with a personal butler.Some Rs. 500 mn will be ploughed into the century old, colonial style hotel, in the first phase of its reinvention over the next few months.rn rnldblquote The cost is […]

The Tourist board is drawing up standards for emerging niche areas like Ayurveda, eco-tourism and spas, to certify and rank tourist hotels and resorts.Modelled on similar experiences in places like Costa Rica, where resorts are ranked on their eco-friendliness, Sri Lanka is trying to raise the profile of its tourism products.rn rnThe Tourist Board is […]

The Tourist Board rolled out a recently re-costed retirement scheme, capped at Rs. 750,000 to make it more attractive to employees. The scheme has already seen over 170 takers, with Tourist Board officials saying they need to trim its 410 strong workforce to an ideal 100 people.rn rnldblquote The cabinet has approved the new Voluntary […]

The Galle Face Hotel is coming out of the closet with Bryan Adams and is hinting at signs of waking up to changing times.The Galle Face Hotel still manages to ooze its famous old world charm but is now clearly looking at shedding its sleepy image starting early this year backed by the musical magic […]

Even before the dust settles on 2003, the tourism industry is gearing up to break last years arrivals record this year.Sri Lanka Tourist Board officials say they expect the numbers to continue their upward trend.rn rnHowever, the industry says a change in the course of the peace process and continuing political instability could derail plans.rn […]

By end November this year, 445,000 tourists flocked into the country and hotels were running out of rooms, as Sri Lanka inched closer to the elusive half a million target. This was still up on the 350,988 visitors as at end November last year, with the tourism sector confident that it will reach about 550,000 […]

Around 60 State owned rest houses, previously managed by the Urban Development Authority and other government agencies, are scheduled for a change of management under a cluster-lease concept.These rest houses that are scattered all over the country will be parcelled into clusters of three or four and leased out for a 30 year period to […]

Resort and spa operator Banyan Tree says it is temporarily putting on hold its investment plans for Sri Lanka because of the countrys political crisisIt had been intending to spend a large chunk of the proceeds from its stock market listing next year in Sri Lanka, Singapores Channel News Asia reported late Tuesday.rn rnBanyan Tree […]