Category: Tourism

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 […]

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 […]