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| Tuesday, 4 November 2003 |
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New BOI company introduces ballooning to Lanka A new BOI company was recently set up to promote ballooning in Sri Lanka. This Australian venture managed by Peter Stewart of Adventure Centre Asia (ACA) started commercial operations in October. Tourists and other ballooning enthusiasts will be able to go on three-hour balloon tour packages that will cost around US$ 250/person. The balloon is one of the some ten adventure products introduced to Sri Lanka by ACA. Peter Stewart, whose company has been operating in Nepal and the Himalayan region for the last 16-years, is confident of Sri Lanka's potential as a ballooning destination. Sri Lanka is on the whole a good country for the activity, though the average temperature is a little hotter than preferred. The central highland temperatures are the best for conducting flights but topography is not ideal. His company will focus on the Cultural Triangle such as Sigiriya, which offers balloonists breathtaking views of the rock as well as future options nearer the West and South coasts. In recent months ballooning got a lot of publicity as the country was the venue of the International Balloon Festival. Fourteen brightly coloured hot air balloons flew around the country in staged flights over Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya and Hambantota. Each balloon had a crew of approximately five, which included pilots and ground staff. Peter Stewart's balloon was distinctive as it was the largest of all the festival balloons and featured the national colours of Sri Lanka and the country's heraldic lion. ACA's balloon pilot was the renowned Tony Brown, who has more than 2,000 flight hours in balloons and has served many years as a pilot of the Concorde supersonic airliner whilst also being a crew member of the historic Brietling around the world balloon expedition. Stewart said that ballooning was different to other forms of flying as it is a unique experience of "travelling with the wind". His balloon, a B-350 is one of the largest commercially available and can carry up to 14-16 people on board, who travel standing in a whicker basket. Whicker baskets go back to the origins of ballooning and, interestingly, nobody has found anything better to replace this flexible and shock resistant medium. In Stewart's native Australia, ballooning is a very popular pastime with every state having its own ballooning club. Ballooning can have many spin-offs such as up market tourism and advertising. His company has been in existence for 16 years, operating across Asia. (Source: The Investor) |
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