Category: Tourism

Oct 31, 2011 (LBO) – An investment fund connected to the Dubai government has bought a 16.1 percent stake in Sri Lanka’s Galadari Hotel, in a deal valued at 1. 18 billion rupees. The broking firm TKS Securities said 29.5 million shares were bought at 40 rupees each. Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals have been up […]

Oct 31, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lankans should avoid all but ‘extremely essential’ travel to Thailand’s capital Bangkok as floods worsened, the island’s foreign ministry said. “[U]unless it is extremely essential, Sri Lankans are advised to temporarily postpone their travel to Bangkok until such time the situation improves,” a foreign ministry statement said. Parts of […]

Oct 27, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hotel Developers, is negotiating with Hilton International USA which runs the property to reduce management fees, a stock exchange filing said. The management is also in talks on with the government to restructure the firm and “overcome the debt burden and interest commitment,” it said. It said the […]

Oct 26, 2011 (LBO) – Maldives has launched a new slogan ‘Always Natural’ and a thumbprint-styled logo highlighting the Indian Ocean tourist paradise’s natural assets. The logo has been designed to express the natural elements of the country formed in a thumb print incorporating various species of fish, dolphins and birds. “The previous slogan was […]

Oct 25, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is holding talks with top international hotel chains to invest in the island after the end of its 30-year year civil war, a senior minister said. Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka rose sharply with the end of the ethnic war in May 2009. Minister of economic development Basil […]

Oct 25, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has cancelled the sale without tender of prime land in the capital to a Chinese defence contractor to build a hotel and is renegotiating the deal with alternate land being offered. Minister of economic development Basil Rajapaksa said the government had changed its policy and decided not to […]

Oct 24, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s proposed 50 US dollar per person fee for an electronic visa has triggered a row with India with the possibility of the country running afoul of obligations under a South Asian regional arrangement, a media report said. The Sunday Times newspaper said the Indian High Commission (embassy) in […]

Oct 24, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is likely to charge a reduced fee from south Asian tourists visiting the island under a new scheme that provides online approval for travel that will replace an on-arrival visa scheme next year. Minister of economic development Basil Rajapaksa said the proposed 50 US dollar per person fee […]

Oct 18, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Saturday launched hot air ballooning over Colombo with daily flights scheduled from November as part of plans to boost leisure activities in the city and attract both local and foreign tourists. Adventure Asia, says it has been operating commercial balloon flights in the central areas of Dambulla, Sigiriya […]

Oct 12, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s John Keells Holdings has tied up with local and foreign training outfits to train staff for its hotels after the end of a war led to a boom in arrivals. The group has tied up with the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management based in Dubai and is also […]

Oct 10, 2011 (LBO) – Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka rose 27. 2 percent to 60,219 in September from a year earlier, helped by surging arrivals from India and China, though British visitors fell, official data showed. In the nine months to September 2011, total arrivals rose 34. 3 percent to 598,006. During the month […]

Oct 04, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s LOLC Leisure has bought full control of the Tropical Villas resort on the south coast paying 165 million rupees to Carbotels for the remaining 40 percent, a stock exchange filing said. The firm had bought 60 percent of Tropical Villas Ltd (TVL) in August 2010 and now holds […]