Boost for Lankan tourism through German sports tours
To promote Sri Lanka as a tourist destination by inviting sports
teams from Germany to visit Sri Lanka is the aim of the Asian German
Sports Exchange Programme.
Badminton, handball, table tennis, football and volleyball teams from
Germany will be touring Sri Lanka on the
promoters: Tour co-ordinators of the German sports teams who
will be visiting Sri Lanka early next year under the theme
‘Promoting tourism through sports’ Karin Anthuber and Stefan
Eggecs. |
invitation of AGSEP early next
year. Teams from leading German cities like Berlin, Munich, Cologne,
Hamburg, Bremen, Liepzig ad Magdeburg along with their supporters and
family members will be visiting Sri Lanka early next year.
During their two week stay in the island the German teams will be
playing three matches each against their Sri Lankan counterparts in
Colombo, Kandy, Marawila and Galle and will also go on sightseeing tours
to Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Sigiriya, Anuradhapura and Galle which would be
a huge boost for the country's tourist industry.
The aim of organising the sports tours is to bring about friendship
and understanding between the players of the two countries and to
promote Sri Lanka as a tourist destination among the sports-loving
Germans.
Two students from the University of Passau, Germany, Karin Anthuber,
a badminton player and Stefan Eggecs, a handball player are organising
the tours on behalf of AGSEP.
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Paramanathan heads TAASL
The 32nd Annual General Meeting of the Travel Agents Association of
Sri Lanka (TAASL) was held in Pattaya, Thailand recently. S.
Paramanathan of Atlas Lanka was elected as the President of the
Association for the year 2007/2008. S. Premakumara of Travel World and
Gerard Victoria of BOC Travels were elected as Vice Presidents while V.
Mahathevan of Pyramid Air Services joined the Council in his capacity as
the Immediate Past President.
Seventy five participants attended this event, which included a
two-night stay in Pattaya and a one-night stay in
Elected: Office-bearers and other participants |
Bangkok. Following the
Annual General Meeting, participants were afforded the opportunity of
meeting members of the Tourism Authority of Thailand on a one-to-one
basis to discuss future business opportunities.
A Cultural Show sponsored by the Tourism Authority of Thailand and a
gala dinner hosted by Thai Airways ended the day's events.
The principal sponsor of the Annual General Meeting was Mihin Lanka
who provided the Association with a very special airfare for the
participants.
AIG Travel Guard sponsored participants to a Chaophraya Dinner Cruise
in Bangkok. Mihin Lanka, SriLankan Airlines, Thai Airways, Indian
Airlines and Jet Airways (India) provided air tickets.
The following members were elected as Council Members for the year
2007/2008: Kamal Mahendra of Air Mark Travels & Tours, W.E. Ranjit Siva
of Alpha Tours, Anne Sivalingam of Anne Travels & Tours, Suresh Mendis
of Classic Travel, Dino De Fonseka of Delair Travels, Rohan Abeywickrema
of Hawk Travels, Riza Ahamat of Hemas Travels, A.A.M. Wazeer of J N W
Lanka Tours, Trevor Rajaratnam of Mackinnons American Express Travel,
Nagarajah Sebamalai of Shan Travels & Tours, Praki Perera of Sparklink
Travels, Rodney Koelmeyer of Superlink Travels, M.R.M. Rizmi of The
Traveller Global and Udaya Silva of The Travel Shop.
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Maldives invites bids for luxury hotels
The Maldives has invited international investors to bid for the right
to construct the tropical nation's first luxury hotel on the island
capital Male, officials said Thursday.
The proposed development is part of the Maldives' plan to attract a
million tourists by 2010 and increase its hotel bed capacity some 80
percent to 36,700 by 2012.
The government has offered an area of 40,000 square feet (3,716
square meters) on a 25-year lease for the 200-bed hotel, Tourism
Minister Mahamood Shougee told AFP. Male, which measures one square mile
(2.5 square kilometres), has over a dozen guest houses and small hotels
but no five-star property.
"We don't really have a proper five-star hotel in the city, and we
expect to fill the void with this proposed hotel development," Shougee
said.
Bids are expected to close on September 16. No estimate has been
given for the value of the project.
The successful bidder must also sell a 30 percent stake in the new
venture through a stock market flotation within three years of signing
the contract, according to the bidding rules. |