Category: Tourism

Nov 10, 2009 (LBO) – A top Sri Lankan hotel group and several hotels won recognition at the World Travel Awards 2009 in London based on votes by travel agents worldwide. The Taj Samudra Colombo was named Sri Lanka’s leading hotel and another group hotel, Taj Exotica in southern Bentota was named Sri Lanka’s leading […]

Nov 10, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s October tourist arrivals grew 7.0 percent to 37,575 from a year earlier, but were slightly lower than the September figure of 37,983, data from the tourist promotion office showed. Meanwhile the state has also mandated minimum prices for Colombo’s five star rated hotels, and at least one hotel […]

Nov 01, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hotel Ceylon Continental controlled by business magnate Nahil Wijesuriya is up for sale and the deal may be closed within two months, a media report said. Sri Lanka’s tourism authorities have legal powers to dictate pricing of hotels. “I am aggressively seeking to sell the property and hope […]

Oct 15, 2009 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority has approved the construction of new hotels on a prime beach property on the island’s east coast following the end of the war, a senior official said. Sri Lanka aims to attract 2.5 million tourists by 2016 following the end of the war. The […]

Oct 15, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is on the mark to push adventure sports tourism, riding the country’s geographical diversity following the conclusion of ‘Raid Amazones 2009’, an adventure sports event for women. Raid Amazones, one of the world’s biggest multi sport adventure events for women was worked out in Dambulla in central Sri […]

Oct 14, 2009 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan tourism package called the ‘Ramayana trail’ that covers sites mentioned in a 2,000-year-old epic poem popular in south Asia is drawing droves of Indian visitors to the island, officials said. The number of tourists visiting the island has increased sharply since the end of its 30-year ethnic […]

Oct 12, 2009 (LBO) – Tourist arrivals into Sri Lanka in September 2009 rose 28.6 percent to 37,983 from a year ago, with strong growth from key European, East Asian and south Asian markets, the Tourism Authority said.The number of visitors from south Asia shot up by half to 13,072, with Indian arrivals rising 54.3 […]

Sept 30, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence Hotels has struck a deal to manage another hotel in south India as part of an expansion in the sub-continent, a senior official said.The company has said several more hotels are scheduled to commence operations under its management within the next two years.Malin Hapugoda, managing director […]

September 16, 2009 (AFP) – With tourism booming in Sri Lanka following the end of decades of ethnic conflict, authorities have ordered hotels in the capital to increase room rates and curb an aggressive pricing war.Luxury hotels in Colombo will be forced to charge a minimum of 90 dollars a night, while stays in cheaper […]

Sept 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka needs a massive increase in hotel accommodation to cope with the anticipated influx of tourists with the end of the 30-year ethnic war, a senior travel trade official said.“The eradication of terrorism and the country returning to normal have created a window of opportunity and conducive business environment […]

Sept 10, 2009 (LBO) – Developers of a luxury island resort managed by the Six Senses chain in Sri Lanka who have set up an investment fund will seek to raise further cash through a private share offering, an official said. Neil De Silva, chairman of Dutch Bay Resorts which is to build the resort […]

Sept 10, 2009 (LBO) – Tourist arrivals into Sri Lanka in August 2009 rose 34.3 percent to 41,207 from a year ago, led by visitors from key markets like the UK, Germany, India, the Tourism Authority said. It was the third straight monthly rise in visitors since May, when a 30-year war ended, compared with […]