Category: Tourism

May 05, 2011 (LBO) – An Indian cruise ship owned and operated by a Chennai-based AMET Shipping India will start calling at Sri Lankan ports in May offering cruises starting at 10,000 Sri Lankan rupees a night, officials said. The cruise service is being launched not only to cater to tourists but also to train […]

May 04, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s hotels, enjoying a boom after the end of a war, can seek expansion funds from the stock market, with banks having difficult history of lending to the sector, a report said. However, unlisted firms which form the bulk of the hotels, may face difficulties in using the stock […]

May 03, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Expolanka Holdings and Akquasun Group based in Mumbai have formed a joint venture called Akquasun Lanka to focus on attracting tourists from emerging markets like India, Russia and China. Expolanka Holdings, a diversified conglomerate with interests in transportation, manufacturing, international trading and strategic investments, plans to raise 2. […]

May 01, 2011 (LBO) – Profit margins of Sri Lanka’s tourist hotels are widening with an influx of arrivals and rising room rates after the end of its 30-year ethnic war, a report said. RAM Ratings also noted that despite the recent rate hikes, Sri Lankan hotel rates are still lower than those of the […]

Apr 29, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s listed Sunshine Holdings said it was forming a joint venture with SilverNeedle hospitality of Singapore to build and manage hotels in a venture that could see up to 50 million dollars being invested. Sunshine Holdings, which has interest in healthcare, plantations, packaging and power, will make the investment […]

Apr 12, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tourism arrivals rose 43. 5 percent in March 2011 to 75,130, with steep increases seen from South Asia and several European generating markets, data from the tourist promotion office showed. Australia and New Zealand rose 50 percent to 3,540 and North America was up 16.8 percent to 3,990. […]

Mar 23, 2011 (LBO) – International hotel chains Marriot and Hyatt have shown interest in Sri Lanka’s southern Hambantota city, which is bidding for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, an official said. Sri Lanka’s tourist development authority chief Nalaka Godahewa said Marriot and Hyatt have looked for land in Hambantota to build hotels, though no applications […]

Mar 22, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will host a United Nations backed tourism conference covering Asia Pacific which will also debate the role of media in tourism, an official said. The sessions include a one day seminar on “Mainstreaming tourism in the media” which will see the participation of international media and marketing experts. […]

Mar 22, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tourism authority says another one thousand rooms will be added to the current tourist accommodation by the end of the year to cater to booming demand. “One thousand rooms will be added and they will be in different categories,” Nalaka Godahewa, Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism said. “Our statistics […]

Mar 15, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings has increased its stake in Browns Beach Hotels, one of the island’s oldest beach resorts which is to be demolished to make way for a new hotel, a statement said. Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings bought 10,000 shares at 21 rupees each, a stock exchange […]

Mar 14, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals rose 14. 8 percent to 65,797 in February 2011 from a year earlier, though visitors from key generating markets in the United Kingdom and Germany dropped. February arrivals were also lower than the January peak of 74,197 as the Western European winter season drew to a […]

Mar 07, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Galadari Hotels said profits rose 49 percent in the December 2010 quarter to 320 million rupees from a year ago, helped by forex gains, its second successive quarterly profit after a string of losses. The Employees Provident Fund (EPF), a pension fund of private citizens managed by the […]