Category: Tourism

Nov 27, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka said Tuesday that tourist arrivals had fallen sharply amid the tropical island’s intensifying ethnic conflict.Tourist arrivals had dropped 20 percent over the 10 months to October to 387,790 compared with the same period last year, Sri Lanka Tourism said. October’s arrivals were 4.6 percent lower at 37,011 compared […]

Nov 25, 2007 (LBO) – Archaeologists working on a Dutch colonial era shipwreck in Sri Lanka’s southern Galle port say 12 more wrecks lie submerged, awaiting excavation and cataloging as historical treasure. In 1999, the team had also uncovered a human skull. “There are 27 sites which contain 12 shipwrecks in the Galle port,” Rasika […]

Nov 14, 2007 (LBO) – Britain has advised its citizens not to travel to the popular Yala wildlife park in southern Sri Lanka after a spate of killings and explosions suspected to have been carried out by Tamil Tiger guerrillas. “We advise against all travel to Yala National Park,” a travel advisory issued by Britain’s […]

Oct 31, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lankan conglomerate Aitken Spence has announced that it has bought another island resort in the Maldivian archipelago where it is already one of the top leisure operators. Aitken Spence Hotels (International), a subsidiary of Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings, said it had acquired the Vadhoo Island Resort for 13 million […]

Oct 28, 2007 (LBO) – Adding an extra touch of nature and concentrating on the local tourist market has helped a hotel controlled by Sri Lanka’s John Keells Holdings to maintain higher occupancy. This year the Chaaya Village in north-central Habarana says it has recorded higher occupancy rates than other properties in the area, despite […]

Oct 23, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka on Tuesday reported a sharp 21 percent drop in holidaymakers visiting the island, a day after Tamil Tigers launched a major suicide attack against a key military base. Tourist arrivals during the month of September slipped 3.6 percent to 37,104 compared to the same period in 2006. The […]

Oct 22, 2007 (LBO) – A two tonne ‘kottu roti’ pancake mix prepared by Hilton Hotel in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo was devoured in just an hour by hundreds of guests at its anniversary party Sunday. Colombo Hilton’s ‘Kottu Party’ got more than double the expected crowd forcing chefs to go into emergency mode […]

Oct 17, 2007 (LBO) – Five thousand experienced hotel workers are out of work due to the tourism downturn, according to the managers of Sri Lanka’s top hotel school who are now training people to find work abroad. Hotels are unable to hire new staff as tourist arrivals have fallen 22 percent in the first […]

Oct 16, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lankan cuisine should be promoted as a new attraction for tourists that will give the local tourism industry a better edge and greater yields, officials with the tourism bureau say.Sri Lanka, with an array of different food items has ignored the qualities of food and has not paid enough […]

COLOMBO October 14, 2007 (LBO) — Leisure operator, Shangri-La has been seltected to build a five-star city hotel in the Maldivian capital of Male, a senior minister said Sunday.. Shangri-La Maldives, which is currently building a 400-bed resort in the northern atoll of Villingili, is expected to complete the 200-bed city hotel by 2010, Tourism […]

Oct 11, 2007 (LBO) – The Hilton hotel in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo will muster up to 40 chefs to make what’s considered a record-breaking two-tonne ‘kottu roti’ pancake mix to mark its 21st anniversary. Hilton also plans to partner with the school for the deaf and blind to raise funds for the physically […]

Oct 08, 2007 (LBO) – French travel agents are visiting Sri Lanka on a tourism promotion which includes what’s billed as a treasure hunt where they search for clues and discover the island’s hidden charms, the Tourist Board said Monday. Sri Lanka received 559,603 visitors the whole of last year. The visit by over 40 […]