Category: Tourism

Dec 29, 2009 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Ports Authority said the cruise ship ˜Discovery’ of the Voyages of Discovery cruise line called at Colombo port as part of a cruise tourism revival with the end of the island’s ethnic war. The cruise line is now owned by UK-based All Leisure Group which is also […]

Dec 21, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence Hotels group said it has struck a deal to run the new Ramada Hotel & Convention Centre in New Delhi scheduled to open in February or March next year. Aitken Spence Hotels said in a statement its latest foray into the Indian market is meant to […]

Dec 09, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan policy makers should follow the Maldivian example by opening a few dozen of the thousands inland lakes in the country to attract high end tourists willing to pay high premiums for ‘privacy’, a top architect said. “People are willing to pay 200 – 300 dollars on a holiday, […]

Dec 08, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tourist arrivals for November went up 20.1 percent to 44,311 from a year ago, boosted by more visitors from key markets like the United Kingdom, Germany and India, while arrivals from Eastern Europe dipped, tourism data showed. Cumulative arrivals, which had fallen steadily till May, were up 0.4 […]

Dec 08, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has struck a deal with the world’s fifth largest cruise line to attract Indian tourists to the island by cruise ship, officials said. The Tourism Promotion Bureau said the cruise calls are expected to increase the number of Indian tourists visiting the island by 4,000 a month. Its […]

Dec 03, 2009 (LBO) – Calls by cruise ships to Sri Lanka, which were greatly reduced during the height of the ethnic war, are picking up with the latest operator to launch visits to Sri Lanka being Louis Cruises India.The number of visitors to the island picked up immediately after the war ended in May […]

Dec 03, 2009 (LBO) – From abandoned tea factory to luxury resort, Aitken Spence will re-launch its successful tea factory hotel under its up-market brand ˜Heritance.’ Since its launch in 1996, the hotel which is situated on a hilltop overlooking Hethersett village, has gained a reputation for being an unusual holiday attraction. Visitors can experience […]

Nov 27, 2009 (LBO) – A photographic exhibition in Colombo makes a case for Sri Lanka eco-tourism, encouraging visitors to experience the island’s rich biodiversity, within a renewed climate of peace in the country. The exhibition is on at the Alliance Francaise in Colombo until December 15, 2009. From Little Egrets in Mannar, Spinner Dolphins […]

Nov 22, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s John Keells Holdings is ready to invest nearly 6.0 billion rupees over the next two to three years in upgrading and building new hotels if tourism arrivals pick up after the end of a 30-year war as expected, an official said. By 2011 JKH would be ready to […]

Nov 18, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is preparing a 10-year tourism master plan covering new infrastructure in former war zones and avoiding the haphazard development that happened in existing resort areas, an official said.S Kalaiselvam, director-general of the Tourism Authority, said a new master plan was needed to ensure planned, sustainable development of tourism […]

Nov 17, 2009 (LBO) – Post-war Sri Lanka has an opportunity to generate employment quickly by developing tourism to ensure employment for youth especially in conflict-affected areas, a new report said.The study by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) said it was important to initiate efforts that would have a “tangible impact’ on target […]

Nov 12, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Charter House International, a marketing and distribution group, said it has won an order to supply a new resort hotel run by Mount Lavinia Hotel Resorts in a Maldivian atoll.The company said in a statement it will supply bathware and sanitary fittings and hotel equipment for the TClub […]