Category: Tourism

May 23, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hilton hotel has won the regional and global Hilton brand awards for 2007, beating some 500 hotels across the world, a statement from the ministry of tourism said. The Hilton Colombo was judged the best hotel in Asia in the balanced scorecard category which measures a hotel’s performance […]

May 20, 2008 (LBO) – The tourism industry in southern Sri Lanka, badly hit by recent unrest, is fighting back by highlighting its best attractions and drawing local visitors, but they also want authorities to lobby harder against foreign travel advisories. Hotelier are desperate to revive an industry that offers plenty of attractions for visitors […]

LONDON, April 26, 2008 (AFP) – Three people were bitten by a rabies-infected puppy dog in British quarantine, a Health Protection Agency (HPA) spokeswoman said Saturday. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced that a case of rabies had been confirmed in the puppy. The dog was in quarantine after being brought into […]

April 08, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Confifi Group says two of its three beach resorts on the west coast have done well in the last winter season despite the sharp down turn in arrivals to the island. . M T A Furkhan, Confifi Group chaiman, said the company has plans to refurbish its hotels […]

April 01, 2008 (LBO) – A growing demand for community-based tourism services from global travelers is creating new opportunities to boost incomes of poorer communities provided their inputs are bought at good prices. “Tourism has undeniable potential for pro-poor economic development in Sri Lanka,” Sri Lanka’s tourism ministry said in a statement. “Community heritage and […]

Mar 27, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tourism industry has the capacity to bounce back, officials who returned from a travel fair in Germany after spreading the message that island is safe for foreign visitors, said. “Right now we are going through a bit of a slow down,” Hiran Cooray, the Managing Director of Jetwing […]

Mar 26, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s southern coastal city to Hambantota has launched a new drive to draw more visitors in, with the area already acquiring a name for wildlife, historical sites and a 150 kilometre stretch of beach. “Our key objective is to promote the Hambantota district as a highly desirable tourist destination […]

March 25, 2008 (LBO) – Foreign visitors to Sri Lanka fell 5.8 percent in February with a steep fall of Indian tourists and UK generating most visitors to the island, data from the tourist promotion office showed. Total arrivals fell to 40,551 from 43,051 in the same month of 2006 with the top generating market […]

March 22, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is launching whale and dolphin watching tours in the island’s Western and Southern waters in an effort to exploit a growing trend in eco-tourism, officials said. The joint venture between Walkers Tours, a unit of John Keells Holdings, and state-rn Ceylon Fishery Harbours Corporation (CFHC) is part of […]

Feb 22, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence Hotels is on track to control around 1,400 rooms in India within two years, making them overtake domestic operations unless new hotels are built in the island, an official said. The firm has bagged eight management deals in India, some with equity participation, which will see […]

Feb 20, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka received 56,916 tourists in January, around the same level as last year with a sharp increase in visitors from Russia which the tourism promotion office has identified as a new target market. January numbers were boosted in both 2007 and 2008 by the arrival of a spiritual leader […]

Feb 16, 2008 (LBO) – An insect with large multifaceted eyes and two pairs of transparent wings on an extended body is luring tourists to Sri Lanka and helping a specialist eco-travel firm earn big bucks. “We had people coming into Sri Lanka just to see dragonflies,” Jetwing Eco Holiday’s chief executive Gehan de Silva […]