Category: Tourism

Oct 05, 2007 (LBO) – Foreign visitors to Sri Lanka slipped 15.5 percent in August while total number of arrivals from January to August this year decreased 22.6 percent, the islands tourist promotion office said. Compared to last August, the arrivals slumped to 44,742 while total arrivals from January to August were down to 313,675 […]

Oct 05, 2007 (LBO) – John Keells Holdings (JKH), Sri Lanka’s top leisure group which is buying up a rival chain in the island, says its Maldives units are not affected by a recent bombing and is going ahead with re-branding its atoll resorts. The group’s leisure division has just concluded a deal offering to […]

Oct 04, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s John Keells Holdings announced a take-over of three Confifi group hotels Thursday, paying for the deal with the stock of its leisure division. Meanwhile in the broader market, the All Share index closed up 0.45 percent at 2,589.7 points and the more liquid Milanka Index 0.31 percent at […]

Sept 21, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is targeting Indian firms to persuade them to hold their business meetings in the island in a bid to boost its flagging leisure industry which has been hit by an internal conflict, officials said. Sri Lanka Convention Bureau, an agency that promotes the Meetings, Incentive travel, Conventions and […]

Sept 20, 2007 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) has appointed a fresh set of officers, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce said. SLAITO is made up of destination management companies who service tourists in Sri Lanka. Foreign travel companies and charter operators who are principals of the local members are […]

Sept 15, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is confident of achieving its target of attracting 600,000 tourists this year following the relaxation of travel advisories in key markets, tourist board officials say. “We are confident that this year, looking at the progress we have, we’ll be able to achieve 600,000 tourists for this year,” S. […]

Sept 08, 2007 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan eco-lodge built in the shape of an elephant has been nominated for a top slot at the World Travel Awards, its operators said. KumbukRiver, in Okkampitiya in the Buttala area is about 250 kilometres away from the capital Colombo and are among the eight lodges nominated for […]

Sept 06, 2007 (LBO) – Maldives has asked Sri Lankan firms operating resorts in the atoll nation to sell a part of their stake through a stock market flotation, a senior minister said. Two of Sri Lanka’s top leisure groups — Aitken Spence & Co. Ltd and John Keells Holdings Ltd — have significant presence […]

Sept 4, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has teamed up with the neighbouring island paradise of the Maldives to woo tourists from China, Russia and the Middle East, officials said Tuesday. Sri Lanka’s 26-billion-dollar economy earned nearly 400 million dollars from tourism last year, the fourth largest foreign currency earner behind tea, clothing and remittances […]

August 30, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hilton Hotel is less affected than resort hotels by the drop in tourist numbers since it has multiple revenue streams, officials said. The hotel, which is owned by a Colombo listed company with state-ownership, is operated by the Hilton Hotels Corporation chain that has over 2,800 hotels in […]

NEW DELHI, Aug 18, 2007 (AFP) – India aims to double its tourist numbers to 10 million in 2010 when it hosts the Commonwealth Games, a report said Saturday. Indian Tourism Minister Ambika Soni said the numbers visiting the country had grown steadily with 3.92 million tourists in 2005 and 4.43 million in 2006, according […]

August 16, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka wants to use sports events like a forthcoming marathon to entice more tourists to the island and rebuild an image tarnished by war and allegations of human rights abuses, officials said. The number of tourists to Sri Lanka fell 20 percent to 44,142 in July and arrivals in […]