Sri Lanka Tourism Sector

[phil.froelich]

Yeah, I have my hopes up high for a good winter, everyone needs this urgently after several bad years...

[Amal]

Sri Lanka Aitken Spence, Six Senses revive spa project

Aug 24, 2009 (LBO) - Aitken Spence, one of Sri Lanka's top hotel firms, has resumed talks with Six Senses Spas, an international spa chain, on building an up-market resort on the south-west coast, a senior official said.

Aitken Spence Hotels managing director Malin Hapugoda said the project is to come up near Ahungalla, in Beruwala, a prime beach resort where it has two properties, Heritance and Neptune.

"They (Six Senses) are keen to re-look at it and now we're having talks to restart the project," he told LBO.

He said the project had been mooted several years ago but shelved because of the island's ethnic conflict.

But the 30-year war ended in May when government forces defeated the Tamil Tigers and there was an immediate revival in tourist arrivals, with economic growth also expected to pick up.

Aitken Spence already has a tie-up with Six Senses which operates spas in the firm's Heritance Kandalama hotel in the north-central region and at the Tea Factory, a hill-country hotel.

The new project with Sex Senses, originally billed as Evason Hideaway, Ahungalla, is for a combination of beach villas and several villas on stilts on a private island in the nearby backwaters of the Madhu Ganga river.

"Next to Heritance Ahungalla we have 10 acres and 27 acres on an island in Madhu Ganga, very close to Ahungalla, where we had planned a very up-market resort there with Six Senses," Hapugoda said.

"Plans for the project had been finalised but it was stalled due to the situation in the country."

Construction was originally scheduled to have commenced in 2010.

http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/f...?nid=345885343

[Amal]

The stick fishermen of Sri Lanka


Monsoon clouds fill the sky at a beach south of Galle, Sri Lanka


Sri Lankan fishermen, known locally as stick fishermen, sit perched on stilts fixed into the ocean floor


A man sits perched on a stilt fixed to the ocean floor as he fishes


He stands on one leg on his stilt as he takes a break from fishing. A fisherman will generally spend many hours on his uncomfortable perch


A Sri Lankan fisherman walks into the water to take his place on the stilts fixed to the ocean floor...


A fisherman wading out is hit by a wave...


...but he manages to keep his cigarette alight


A stilt fisherman takes a break


Stick fishermen sit perched on stilts fixed into the ocean floor, as others fish from an embankment


Stick fisherman work as the sun sets



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/ear...Sri-Lanka.html

[PCK]

damn good pics! esp the guy wth the cigarette!!

[Skyprince]

I will fly to SriLanka in 4 days..... wow am so excited about it and want to make a super amazing trip report better than what I did for Bangladesh and Yemen

Btw, great pics and info.

[PCK]

awesome skyprince! cant wait for the report! hope u have an amazing time!! if you do want some information before hand pls do ask us here at the forum! have u decided on the places you are going to visit?

[saraprobe]

Tourism Development Minister Faizer Mustapha inspects the kitchen of a Hotel - Faizer cancels permits of two Chinese Restaurants

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has given instructions to Tourism Promotion Minister Faizer Mustapha to formulate a policy in 5-star class hotels room charges for couples and single persons.

The current room rates of 5-star class hotels seem to be horrendously expensive and ordinary foreign tourists do not wish to occupy 5 –star class hotels for accommodation. Minister Mustapha has also cancelled the permits of two Chinese restaurants following his sudden raids on Colombo hotels, the Tourism Ministry revealed.

Tourism Promotion Minister Faizer Mustapha told The Island that the conditions of kitchens of some 5-class hotels left much to be desired because the food prepared by them was not up to standard. Although the hotels had been registered with the Ceylon Tourist Board the hospitality, accommodation and meals were not up to the expected standard.

He pointed out that two Chinese restaurants serving food for foreigners were badly equipped and unclean. The permits of these two restaurants were cancelled. Some kitchens of restaurants had become houses of rats.

Minister Mustapha said that the sudden raids on Colombo hotels were conducted with tourism ministry officials, Colombo municipal council officials and some public health inspectors. He asked the hotel staff about their accommodation and had gone to see them. He was not satisfied with hotel staff accommodation and he would be holding discussions with hotels management to resolve the issues of staff.

He emphasized that the 5-star class hotels in Colombo and restaurants in vicinity of Colombo had been spending a great deal of money to attract both local and foreign tourists, but the kitchens of the hotels and restaurants were way below the required standards.

All hotels and restaurants whose kitchens are unclean would be issued warnings. Any recurrence of such uncleanliness would result in their licenses being canceled.

Island

[Skyprince]

Originally Posted by PCK

awesome skyprince! cant wait for the report! hope u have an amazing time!! if you do want some information before hand pls do ask us here at the forum! have u decided on the places you are going to visit?

I will fly in a couple of hours! Hmm I don;t plan for anything- will plan once I arrive there! I don't even know where to stay yet... let the fate decides

[lordvader]

Sri Lanka Tourism’s controversial ‘Small Miracle’ tagline is no longer used in correspondence or advertising while an alternative to the word ‘Small’ is found. In last weekend’s newspapers, the Minister of Tourism Nandana Gunatillake invited professionals, intellectuals and interested parties to send ideas and proposals to formulate a new tagline.

The deadline for proposals is September 4, 2009. A tourism official said until a replacement is found, ‘Sri Lanka’ with the website www.srilanka.travel written underneath is currently in use. The official added that no promotional material or advertising campaigns have been launched in overseas markets yet.

Sri Lanka Tourism’s ‘Small Miracle’ tagline has been steeped in controversy since its launch in June 2009 after reports surfaced that the President had expressed reservations on the tagline which had been chosen based on research. Addressing the controversy, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) and the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), Bernard Goonetille said the word ‘Small’ will be replaced but described it as ‘no major change.’ Although no specific date was given, Mr. Goonetilleke said the change should be finalized soon as promotional material for the winter season has to be completed.

http://www.sundaytimes.lk/090830/Fin...imes/ft11.html

[lordvader]

Issues for top tourism developers
By Natasha Gunaratne

Unexpected growth opportunities for the tourism industry have arisen after the conclusion of the war with serious investors expressing interest in developing properties.

Chairman of Jetwing Sri Lanka Hiran Cooray told the Sunday Times FT that having alrady expanded outside the island to places such as Vietnam through Jetwing Indochina and even Bangladesh, the company is refocusing on developing in several areas across the island. With the opening up of the East coast for construction and new projects in the pipeline, Mr. Cooray said time management has become an issue between running the overseas properties and focusing on expanding in Sri Lanka.

Jetwing’s plans include the construction of a new resort in Yala after the previous hotel was destroyed in the 2004 tsunami. The Blue Oceanic Hotel in Negombo will be refurbished and given a fresh look. Mr. Cooray said Jetwing will also embark on new developments in the Pasikudah area and another with Hayleys in Nilaveli. He expects tourist arrivals to continue to rise, as has been the trend over the past few months. In fact, he said his expectations for a good winter season have been reinforced by the fact that rooms were all booked for the month of August.

Despite the expected resurgence of the industry and an influx of foreigners, Mr. Cooray said he hopes the focus on local tourists will continue. However, he said no tourist hotel can survive on the local market alone. With the increase in the number of tourists from India and in particular the Middle East, Jetwing is learning about different cultural and behavioural patterns in order to help them to cater to a varied group of travelers.

Mr. Cooray also said there have been increasing numbers of visitors from the Far East, particularly from countries such as Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, a trend which he described as being very healthy. Visitors from traditional markets in Europe will continue to increase as well but the diversity in the types of tourists will provide a healthy balance for the industry. Whereas Europeans travel mostly during the winter season in December and January, Middle Eastern tourists travel from June until the beginning of Ramadan.

Prior to the end of hostilities, a lot of second strength staff had left Sri Lanka to go overseas, Mr. Cooray said. However, he is hopeful that some will return and contribute to the industry here. Some Sri Lankan architects and managers are currently working at the Indochina hotel in Hanoi in Vietnam.
Jetwing will manage two more properties in Vietnam over the next six to 12 months.

http://www.sundaytimes.lk/090830/Fin...imes/ft18.html

[lordvader]

Cinnamon Lakeside opens its doors on Sept. 1

The Rs.500 million restoration and upgrade of the previous Trans Asia Hotel, now re-branded as Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo, will be launched with a flourish on Tuesday, Sept. 1, the owners said.

John Keells Holdings (JKH) through Asian Hotel Properties and on its own account owns 84% of this luxury 350-room lakeside hotel which promises to set a new standard in this country’s hospitality industry "by taking indulgence to a new level."

The restoration and upgrading of the hotel was completed in a record three-and-half months with the Rs. 150 million cost of restoring damage caused by the LTTE’s last air attack on Colombo targeting the Sri Lanka Air Force Headquarters largely coming from insurance claims.

The owners have invested a further Rs.350 million in upgrading the hotel, refurbishing 109 guest rooms, the lobby, coffee shop, the lakeside terrace and the ballroom which suffered damage from the air attack.

JKH seized the opportunity that arose from the damage caused by the LTTE attack to bring the hotel launched in 1985 and operated first as the Ramada Renaissance and thereafter as the Trans Asia Hotel under its Cinnamon brand umbrella as Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo.

JKH Deputy Chairman Ajit Gunawardena, who also sits on the Trans Asia board, said that while bookings for the next winter will begin by mid-September, the favourable security situation has drawn inquiries from prospective visitors as well as tour operators who had previously pulled out of the country.

"The signs are that arrivals this year will be significantly better than last year while next year promises to be pretty decent," he said yesterday.

He noted that the upsurge in tourist arrivals during the ceasefire 2002-05, hotels in Colombo benefited the most with average occupancy in the city increasing to over 70% in 2004/05.

"Today, with the 501-room Cinnamon Grand Colombo having well established itself as the best Five-Star in the city, and the newly refurbished Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo offering the business traveler a unique environment of leisure within the city, the John Keells group simply awaits greeting the tourism potential of post-conflict Sri Lanka," he said.

JKH Leisure Sector Projects and LAN Management Development Services, and Vasantha Ratnayake Consultancy Services worked on the new look for the hotel with interior design undertaken by Bent Severin & Associates PTE Limited of Singapore, DDN Design (PVT) Limited and Taru i.e.

The branding team was headed by Mr. Shafeek Wahab.

The hotel’s main lobby has been significantly changed with brand new flooring, walls and furniture and a new reception/concierge counter has been fitted, a spokesman said.

The main entrance to the hotel and the doors leading to the garden and pool area are being changed to sheer glass doors to give guests a stunning view of the lake and pool.

The ballroom has been restored to its original glory with chandeliers and new carpet and furnishings and a new restaurant and bar installed.

"The investment in refurbishing Trans Asia and re-launching it under the Cinnamon brand with new rooms, a completely different look to its lobby and an array of unique lakeside dining options will enable the hotel to position itself among the premium accommodation providers in the city while catering to multiple tiers of the markets," Gunawardena said.

http://www.island.lk/2009/08/30/business7.html

[PCK]

The New Cinnamon Lakeside - (Formerly Trans Asia)



Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo is poised to set a new standard in the hospitality industry in Sri Lanka by taking indulgence to a new level.

Since its establishment in 1985, the hotel has reinvented its identity: from Ramada Renaissance to Trans Asia Hotel and now, to Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo.

The transformation that has now taken place gives the hotel a new aura and ambience; a sensitive character and liberating spaces, making it truly the unique resort city hotel of the prestigious Cinnamon brand of hotels and resorts, the most preferred hospitality brand in the country today.

The decision to transform the hotel was taken by the John Keells Group, which owns the property. "A comparison of islandwide occupancy rates in Sri Lanka shows that during the upsurge in tourist arrivals brought about by the ceasefire (2002-05), hotels in Colombo benefited the most with average occupancy rates in the city increasing to over 70 percent in 2004-05", said Deputy Chairman, John Keells Group Ajit Gunewardene.

"Today, with the 501-room Cinnamon Grand Colombo having well-established itself as the best five-star in Colombo, and a newly refurbished Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo offering the business traveller a unique environment of leisure within the city, the John Keells Group simply awaits to greet the tourism potential of post-conflict Sri Lanka."

Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo borders on the Beira Lake, giving guests an opportunity to enjoy an unparalleled al fresco dining experience in the heart of the busy, bustling city of Colombo.

Be it a relaxing afternoon under the shade of a mango tree or an exciting party by the illuminated waters of the lake, guests have choices that no other city hotel can offer.

Indulgence is the key to everything the hotel offers and the changes brought about by the renovation are no exception. They include new restaurants, a classy bar, and refurbished rooms with a stunning view of the lake, decor in warm, earthy hues that are sure to make you unwind; and even a new monthly newsletter, The Grapevine!

The ballroom has been restored to its original glory with stunning chandeliers and new carpet and furnishings, allowing patrons to have their functions catered at their favourite venue. Azmaara Spa will be the latest addition to the hotel's guest facilities, offering a range of the finest spa treatments to suit every guest.

Gunawardene said, "The investment in refurbishing Trans Asia and re-launching it under the Cinnamon brand with new rooms, a completely different look to its lobby and an array of unique lakeside dining options will enable the hotel to position itself among the premium accommodation providers in the city while catering to multiple tiers of the market."

http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/09/01/bus21.asp

[sjinadasa]

Originally Posted by PCK

an array of unique lakeside dining options will enable the hotel to position itself among the premium accommodation providers in the city

Heh, Beira lakeside dining.

[Amal]

The peace dividend

Sri Lanka seems to be the flavour of the season for holiday planners



Sumana Mukherjee

Coming off prolonged years of militancy, Sri Lanka seems to be the flavour of the season for holiday planners. And the little teardrop-shaped island they called Serendip seems determined to get you going—any which way. Take your pick:

• Bike tour

GetOffYourAss is organizing a nine-day (26 September-4 October) motorbike tour through the island, starting from Negombo and passing through Kandy, Knuckles Range, Mahiyangana, Nuwareliya and Adams Peak. The route is provisional, says GetOffYourAss’ Santosh Kumar, as new routes and areas are opening up every day. As a one-off, the trip is available at special promotional prices. It will cost Rs33,500 per person for a group of six. A group of five will take costs up to Rs38,250 per person. The charges cover bike rental (options: XR 250, Suzuki Djibel, Yamaha Serova), a back-up vehicle with driver, a mechanic with minimal spares and a trip leader with prior experience. It doesn’t include airfare, food or accommodation, local driving licences, refundable bike deposits ($200, around Rs10,000) and incidentals. To sign up for the trip, call Santosh at 09845442224 or email at santosh@getoffurass.com. Participants need to report at Negombo on 26 September.

• Tuk-tuk race

The Great Sri Lankan Tuk-Tuk Challenge starts today. Over the next 10 days, 42 drivers—divided into 20 teams—will drive the tuk-tuks across 1,200km of mountains, rainforests, coastal villages and bustling towns. It starts from Negombo and ends in Colombo, via Sigiriya, Dambana, Kandy. Spot applications are not allowed, but it’s not the end of your dream of driving the humble autorickshaw. Entries for next year’s challenge open in October. Click here for more details [ http://www.lankachallenge.com/ ]

http://www.livemint.com/2009/09/0422...idend.html?h=B

[Amal]

Tuk-tuk drivers burn rubber for charity

Tuk-tuk drivers from around the world will descend on Sri Lanka.


A 10 day motor rally is beginning in Sri Lanka for drivers of auto-rickshaws, also known as tuk-tuks, from around the world.

In the first such event on the island more than 20 teams will navigate 1,200 kilometres in their three-wheeled vehicles, passing through mountains, forests, tea plantations and coastal villages.

The event will raise money for local charities and the drivers will also plant trees to offset their carbon emissions.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...section=justin

[Amal]

Sri Lanka to lease islands for hotels

Sept 09, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka plans to lease islands off the north-west coast for tourist hotels, as the travel industry recovers after the end of the 30-year ethnic war, government officials said.

Tourism promotion minister Faiszer Musthapha said the government will soon advertise the lease of five islands in the Kalpitiya lagoon region which is being developed as a new up-market tourist resort complex.

The tourism promotion ministry and investment promotion ministry were already holding talks with international hotel investors on new projects in the country, he told a news conference.

The end of the war in May, when government forces defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels, has generated a lot of interest in Sri Lanka’s tourism sector among international investors and hotel operators, he told a news conference.

The first such project was announced at the news conference Tuesday.

The international luxury hotel chain Six Senses is to operate a six-star boutique resort on an island in Kalpitiya to be built by a group of foreign investors, Musthapha said.

Bernard Goonetilleke, chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, said 4,000 rooms are to be built under the Kalpitiya tourism project.

Previous fears that such a large number of rooms being added might lead to overcapacity at a time when existing hotels were struggling to fill their rooms had evaporated with the end of the war, he said.

“We now wonder whether 4,000 rooms will be enough to meet increasing demand,” he said.

Sri Lanka has seen an upturn in tourist arrivals with the end of the war and hotels are anticipating full houses in the forthcoming winter season.

The Kalpitiya region is a new region for tourism development left largely untouched because of the war.

Most beach resort development has been on Sri Lanka’s south-west and southern coasts.

The government is now also trying to attract investors to build hotels in the east, known for some of the country’s best beaches, Goonetilleke said.

Dileep Mudadeniya, managing director of the Tourism Promotion Bureau, said the new hotels earmarked for Kalpitiya would be up-market ones with the aim of attracting high-spending tourists.

“The rooms will be priced over 350 dollars each,” he said. “The project will also create thousands of jobs.”

http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/f...nid=2052388293

[Amal]

Sri Lanka islet resort by Six Senses chain

Sept 09, 2009 (LBO) – International luxury hotel chain Six Senses is to manage a resort built on an islet on the north west coast of Sri Lanka becoming the first tourism project to be announced after an ethnic war ended, officials said.

The first phase of the project in Dutch Bay in Kalpitiya, off the north-west coast, will cost 75 million dollars and consists of 60 mangrove chalets – two-storey villas with plunge pools – and 20 luxury villas on the lagoon.

The Dutch Bay Resort project, to be ready by 2011, is a joint venture between Six Senses and Swarna Dweep, an investment vehicle.

Swarna Dweep was set up by European investors and a Sri Lankan entrepreneur, Neil De Silva, currently operating in Europe and the Middle East.

De Silva, chairman of Dutch Bay Resorts, told a news conference the second phase of the project, costing 100 million dollars, will consist of 80 villas – luxury homes to be sold to Arabs, Europeans and Sri Lankans as holiday or retirement homes.

Owners can lease them back to the developers.

Swarna Dweep, a 51 percent shareholder of Dutch Bay Resorts, is a company established by Norwich International Consultants, a real estate business operating in the Kingdom of Bahrain since 1997.

The Kalpitiya Ducth Bay resort will be bordered by a lagoon on its eastern side and the Indian Ocean on the west.

The 60 mangrove boutique chalets will located within inland water bodies and the 20 two-storey villas along the lagoon.

Both will be managed by Six Senses under the name Six Senses Hideaway at Dutch Bay

Six Senses is not investing money in the project and will be the management company.

De Silva said the project has been planned since 2005 with the land bought from private owners, research and concept planning done and an environmental impact assessment also done and to be made available for public scrutiny soon.

De Silva declined to say how much the investors, who have put in 36 million dollars, had paid for the land.

The project will include a spa, floating restaurants and a helipad.

Patrick De Groot, chief development officer of Dutch Bay Resorts, said Dutch Bay first came to his attention in 2007, when he was scouting for luxury resort and hotel opportunities for Dubai-based Jumeirah Group.

But the war prevented investment at the time, he said.

De Silva said that key resort areas were still in their pristine condition despite two decades of war, which ended in May, when government forces defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels.

"We came in during 2005 when the war was still on looking at the island’s long-term potential," he said. "It was a tough time for us during the civil unrest."

Tourism promotion minister Faiszer Musthapha said Six Senses is the first international chain to start a boutique resort in the island.

"Six Senses coming in would also attract others. We’re now talking with other international hotel operators. It is a matter of time before they come in," he said.

"Terrorism has cost tourism a lot. Top hotel chains and airlines left the country because of the conflict."

Musthapha said the Six Senses resort will charge far highe room rates than existing hotels - around 1,000 – 1,500 dollars a night.

"It is better to get tourists to spend more than attract a large number of visitors who spend less."

http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/f...nid=1366093431

[Amal]

Sri Lanka pushes halal credentials

by Patrick Elligett Sep 9, 2009

Sri Lanka’s major holiday destinations will now offer halal food, in a bid to cater for a recent influx of tourists from the Middle East.

Since approximately 70% of the nation’s citizens are Buddhist, the initiative was developed specifically for the benefit of Muslim tourists.

The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau’s (SLTPB) Middle East director, Heba Al Ghais Al Mansoori, claimed Arab travellers could now confidently explore the country’s diverse culinary offering.


Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau's Middle East director, Heba Al Ghais Al Mansoori.

“Previously, it [halal food] wasn’t available in some places, but now they make sure it is available in all the resorts and hotels so Arab tourists won’t have a problem there,” she said.

“There are many things Sri Lanka’s tourism sector is doing at the moment to make sure it’s easy for Arab travelers to adapt while staying there.”

The SLTPB recently announced a dramatic leap in the number of Arab tourists visiting from the Middle East.

In June this year the number of visitors from Saudi Arabia and the UAE almost tripled, according to the bureau.

http://www.hoteliermiddleeast.com/ar...l-credentials/

[sjinadasa]

Does this mean no more bacon in hotels ? I seriously hope not Also nice to see Kalpitiya project getting off the ground

[Amal]

Sri Lanka's Aug tourist arrivals surge 34 pct

Thu Sep 10, 2009 1:50pm IST

By Shihar Aneez

COLOMBO, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's tourist arrivals jumped by more than a third in August from a year ago, the third monthly rise since May due to the end of a decades-long war, the Indian Ocean island nation's tourism board said on Thursday.

August tourist arrivals rose 34.3 percent to 41,207, the highest since December, up from 30,672 recorded a year ago.

The rise in arrivals and expectations of post-war investment have driven the Colombo Stock Exchange's tourism sector index .CSEHT up 165 percent this year, double of the gain in the broader market .CSE.

"We are in for a major takeoff," Faizer Mustapha, Minister of Tourism Promotion told Reuters. "We have created a much-needed peaceful situation for tourists in Sri Lanka after the war."

Overall arrivals in January to August have fallen 5.9 percent to 271,159 compared to 288,017 a year ago. The decline reflects the drop in arrivals in the first five months of the year when the government fought the last phase of the war that ended in May.

Sri Lanka raised its tourist target last month to a six-year high of half a million visitors, which it expects to generate revenues of $400 million, a 17 percent increase from last year.

It received 438,475 visitors in 2008, a drop of 11.2 percent from a year earlier. Revenue fell by 11.2 percent to $342 million as visitors stayed away because of intense fighting.

Sri Lanka is targeting 2.5 million arrivals and $2 billion in earnings by 2016. (Editing by Bryson Hull and Jan Dahinten)

http://in.reuters.com/article/domest...34746420090910