Category: Tourism

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 […]

Feb 13, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is targeting Middle Eastern visitors by tying up with Al-Jazeera TV to make up for dwindling numbers from traditional European markets, officials said. “There is a need to be more aggressive in promoting the country’s image among Middle East travellers,” deputy minister of tourism Faiszer Musthapha […]

Feb 12, 2008 (LBO) – Aitken Spence Hotels has boosted net profits by 78 percent in the December quarter and slashed its Sri Lanka losses in the first nine months of the current financial year, its latest results show. Pre-tax losses in Sri Lanka fell to 195.6 million rupees from 285.7 million rupees in the […]

Feb 11, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Associated Hotels Company Limited (AHCL) will merge with Ceylon Hotels Corporation (CHC) and another company, Perigrine Private Limited, the company said Monday. The date of merger was not announced, but may be determined by the registrar of companies. Associated Hotels share was up 10.25 on the news to […]

Feb 11, 2008 (LBO) – Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways will resume daily flights to Sri Lanka from March, after security was tightened at the island’s international airport, the airline said Monday. CX711 departs Hong Kong at 16.15 and arrives in Sri Lanka at 22.45, while the return CX710 service departs Colombo at 00.15 on […]