Connaissance launch Amaya Resorts

HIRAN H. Senewiratne reporting from London

LONDON November 17 - Connaissance Holdings launched Amaya Resorts and Spas, presenting centuries of Sri Lankan tradition to the international public at the World Tourism Market (WTM), which concluded last Friday.

The initial re-branded products included Amaya Lake (formerly Culture Club), Amaya Hills (Le Kandyan) and Amaya Reef (The Reef Hikkaduwa).

Connaissance's Hotel Director Lalin Samarawickrama, told the Daily News that these three hotels have enjoyed success and their re-branding as Amaya represents a new stage in their evolution.

"We were able to attract new tour operators and other interested parties to our hotels, through WTM," he said.

He said that they are in the process of attracting tourists from UK, France, Germany, Italy and many more.

Amaya will market itself to both domestic travellers and foreign visitors. Those coming from abroad will be able to encounter the best of traditional Sri Lanka, while domestic travellers from locations such as Colombo will enjoy the opportunity to escape to nature and get in touch with their cultural heritage.

Minister, Creative Industries and Tourism, U.K. James Purnell said, "I'm very glad to be able to say that despite London bombings in July the visitor numbers have kept up very well.

"The latest figures for 2005 show that they look likely to be higher than 2004, he said.

"Britain is looking forward to joining the World Tourism Organisation this year. It does huge amounts to promote tourism around the world and we want to play our full part and learn and to look forward to learning from its expertise on areas of sustainable tourism and economic development," he said.