Friday, 17 January 2003  
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Business Travel

More investments to promote Lanka's tourism image

by Shirajiv Sirimane

Sri Lanka Airlines will invest Rs 500 million to promote the Sri Lanka's tourism image this year. According to the Chairman of the SriLankan Airlines D. Palpola this will be mainly for promotion and advertising.



The Minister of Tourism Gamini Lokuge receives the MICE magazine from Chairman SriLankan Airlines D. Palpola. Dr. P. Ramanuajam, Secretary Tourist Board is also in the picture. (Picture by A. Maduraveeran) 

He said that Sri Lankan Airlines along with the Tourist Board had been promoting Sri Lanka as a tourist destination for a long period of time. "Last year our budget to promote Sri Lanka was Rs. 300 million." He said the SriLankan Airlines with the Sri Lanka conventions Bureau (SLCB) and Local Professional Conference (PCOs) actively promote MICE tourism (Meeting, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) in Sri Lanka encouraging foreigners to hold their meetings, conferences, exhibitions and intensive tours here. He said that for the first time the airline has taken a step further in this direction by publishing a MICE magazine 'Meet Sri Lanka'.

The magazine which is a A4 sized half inch thick, colour brochure describes in detail Sri Lanka's many attractions.

It contains an effective introduction to Sri Lanka as a destination for MICE tourism Promotion. Sri Lankan Airlines as a business carrier, promotes conferences and business centres in Sri Lanka. This magazine is expected to go online from April this year.

MICE tourism accounts for 12% of the total inbound tourism market to Sri Lanka for last year and the airline is hoping to increase this to 15% this year.

Head of Commercial SriLankan Airlines J. T. Jayaseelan said that MICE tourists are not seasonal and their expenditure is nine times more than an average tourist. "The other advantage is that they subsequently visit the country with their families."

He said that the Airline is also hoping once again to operate domestic airlines. "We are hoping to fly to Jaffna.

The Airline has the capacity to operate flights. But we are hoping to join Jaffna with an international destination in India."

He said that the Palaly airport is still not geared for this. He said that plans are under way to fly to Kochin from this April.


A Palm for all seasons

Pramod de Silva finds a Palm of a quite different kind growing swiftly off Dubai's Jumeirah beach.



An artist’s impression of houses on the Palm 

Just four years from now, the world's biggest airliner, the double-decker Airbus A380 will soar to the skies from Dubai. While the skies warmly embrace the biggest passenger plane ever, the seas below will wallow in pride, nestling the biggest man-made islands ever. Even if the A380 could somehow blast off to space, these islands off the coast of Dubai will still be visible to window seat passengers. Welcome to the Palm.

The latest addition to Dubai's architectural masterpieces - the Burj Al Arab, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Emirates Towers et al - the US$ 3 billion Palm is already known as the Eighth Wonder of the World. There has never been anything like it - two-man made islands shaped like a palm, just 15 km away from each other. The Palm, Jumeirah and the Palm, Jebel Ali.

Each Palm will be connected to the mainland by a 300 m causeway. Palm Jumeirah will be just 25 Km away from the bustling Dubai Airport and Palm Jebel Ali, around 40 Km away. When the Palm Jumeirah is completed in 2006 and Jebel Ali in 2007, they will add 120 km of new coastline to the dynamic city of Dubai.

The Palms reflect the very heritage of Dubai - the palm tree and water have played a very important trade role for centuries.

The Palms, being built on a proposal by the Crown Prince of Dubai, will eventually have 5,000 beachside villas (32 international designs with some degree of design flexibility), 100 luxury hotels (60 major/40 boutique), 3,600 apartments, four marinas (total capacity 400 yachts), water parks, shopping malls, cinemas, restaurants and health spas.

Most of the villas on Jumeirah (priced from US$ 550,000 for a three bedroom unit) and hotels have already been sold, thanks to relaxation of ownership rules - foreigners can now buy Palm properties on a freehold basis and get a three-year renewable visa. Interest is already high in the Jebel Ali properties, which will go on sale shortly.

"The Palm will be a destination in itself. It will be an oasis of serenity coupled with excitement and the sheer joy of living," a Palm official tells me after playing a 15-minute video on a big screen.

Then she shows me some satellite photos, the latest one indicating the rapid pace of construction. Each island is being constructed using 100 million cubic metres of rock and sand. The basic outline is clearly visible already. Each Palm will be approximately 5 km in length and 5 Km in width. The crescent island surrounding the Palm will be 11 Km long. It is an engineering and technological marvel by all means.

Although the basic structure (trunk, crown and crescent) of the two Palms is the same, The Palm Jumeirah will almost exclusively be residential. In addition to houses and hotels, Jebel Ali will also have a Sea Village, a massive entertainment and recreation complex.

While Arabian will be the predominant architectural style on the Palms, European, Asian, Latin American and American styles will also be available especially for the villas. The boutique hotels will also have country themes (Greek, Asian and American) and styles. The Palm Jumeirah will have nine hotels (400 rooms each/eight storeys) on the trunk.

While the Palm is the most ambitious project in Dubai, there are several other mega projects seeking the attention of international investors and buyers. The Dubai Marina project will eventually be home to 50,000 people. The 800-villa Meadows, Emirates Villas, Emaar Towers, The Springs and the 1,800 villa Arabian Ranches (on the highway to Oman) are among the other big projects.

These projects are an essential component of Dubai's plans to become a hub for the world. More than anything else, the Palm symbolises Dubai's desire to expand its horizons and reach out to the oceans beyond. Anywhere else, it would have remained a grandiose dream. But in Dubai, it is about to become a reality.


Qatar Airlines to fly 500 pax from France

Qatar Airlines Director for France, Belgium and Spain Eric Didier said that his airline hopes to bring 500 pax per month to Sri Lanka.


Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker arrived in Sri Lanka recently. His visit coincided with the introduction of two additional flights on Tuesdays and Saturdays on the Colombo Dohar sector. At the press briefing from left: Ravi Goonetilleke District Sales Manager, Qatar Airways, Mohamed Fakhri, General Manager, Commercial Qatar Airways, Akbar Al Baker CEO Qatar Airways and Charmaine Mendis, - Deputy Chairperson - Delmege Forsyth Travels (GSA for Qatar Airways).

The airline is also planning to increase the number of Paris-Doha frequencies by four flights a week from March 31, facilitating more effective connections to Colombo.

The Director in an interview with the french based travel newspaper 'Le Quotidienne de Tourisme' has also said that the airline hopes to introduce their new packages to the brochures of the French Tour Operators next summer onwards. Qatar Airways is focusing on Sri Lanka in order to develop their sales promotions in France by increasing the number of flights from France with connections to Colombo from Doha, capital of Qatar.

The five weekly flights operating between Doha and Colombo which leaves the capital of Qatar in the evening was not connected to the flights arriving from France.

The airline has put two new flights (Tuesday and Saturday) to Colombo from January 4, with connecting flights from Europe.

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Vacancies - Sri Lanka Ports Authority

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Crescat Development Ltd.

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