Business Leisure

Invests Rs. 3 million for alternative power:

Hotel Sigiriya initiates curbing Green House Gas

Hotel Sigiriya would be investing Rs. 3 million to instal a new power generation system to replace the existing Diesel generators.

“Since 2003, Hotel Sigiriya has been committed to the conservation of the environment and we want to help save the environment by replacing Diesel with green energy generated through plants,” said CEO, Serendib Leisure Srilal Miththapala.

He said that they would be acquiring Indian technology to instal this plant by end of February next year.

The goal of this Greening project at Hotel Sigiriya is to promote nature-friendly and environmentally sustainable tourism by integrating it into daily management.

“We are not doing magic at the hotel but basic things. We have introduced a key switch that knock off the air conditioning when the guest leaves the room,” he said.

This aims specifically to conserve energy. The hotel has also taken steps to save water, minimise solid waste, air pollution and other chemical pollution.

Maximise the use of environment-friendly materials, adopt practices of reducing, recycling and reusing introduction of indigenous flora in landscaping and eradicate invasive alien species are some of the other moves the hotel has initiated so far.

Conserve biodiversity and support local livelihoods through continuing training programs, the staff has been sensitised and are engaged actively in practicing environmental management, integrating it into their daily work routines.

The project is entirely self-funded, using funds generated by the Hotel from its operations, with leadership provided by its management company, Serendib Leisure Limited.

Hotel Sigiriya is located in an eight acre garden of verdant trees, with over a hundred different species of mostly indigenous flora. It has 80 rooms, a purpose-built Ayurveda centre, an eco-centre with documentaries on wildlife and culture, a swimming pool that overlooks the Rock, an open-plan, non-air conditioned restaurant that was built to blend in with the natural environment, and a range of cultural and nature-related activities conducted by a resident naturalist.

On average, the Hotel caters to about 2000 guests per month, and operates with 100-130 staff members, under the management of a manager and eight executive staff.

The management also hopes to intensify this program in their other two hotels, Dolphin Waikkala and Serendib Bentota. “We expect with the initiatives we have taken the guest too can be happy that by staying in our hotel they too have contributed towards the safe guarding of the environment,” he said. (SS)

Arabian travel market promo yields results

The promotions done at last year Arabian travel Market is yielding results as there is a 27.2 percent increase of Gulf travellers to Sri Lanka in the first nine months says the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Faizer Mustapha.

The Eastern market too has shown an increase while the overall tourist arrivals have dropped by 19 percent during the period. The total arrivals were at 387,790 in the first nine months of 2007 while during the corresponding period there were 482,788 arrivals.

The Deputy Minister said that the Gulf market had been ignored for some time and he took the initiative to promote it as President Mahinda Rajapaksa saw the potential in this market.

Speaking to a group of Kuwait journalist who were flown by SriLankan

Airlines last week he said that they would also be hosting a road show in Kuwait next year to woo more tourists. In addition more travel literature would be printed in Arabic. “We are also looking at putting up hoardings and build up an awareness on Sri Lanka,” the Deputy Minister said.

The Kuwait travellers are very keen on Lankan tea plantations, water sports including adventure tourism. “Kuwaiti nationals like to travel with their families and we would also try to attract this market,” he said. The boutique hotels offered in Sri Lanka would be tailor made for family stays.

Journalist Jinan Hussein who was part of the delegation said that the road network has to improve as the time spent on the road to travel from one destination to another was far too long. “This has to be addressed soon,” she said.

A delegation member said that the quality of local hotels and their service was very good. The strong currency of Kuwait as against both the US Dollar and the Sri Lankan rupee too is another advantage. (SS)

India to head UN World Tourism Organisation

India has been unanimously elected to head United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

India’s elevation to the chair of the Executive Council of UNWTO came at the agency’s 82nd meeting held yesterday at Cartegena de Indias, Colombia that warned against discrimination against developing countries on the issue of climate change.

Significantly, Minister of Tourism and Culture Ambika Soni had said, during the plenary session, that tourism in developing countries should not be curtailed in the name of climate change.

The Council meets twice a year and is empowered to take all measures necessary in consultation with the Secretary General for the implementation of the decisions and the recommendations of the UN General Assembly.

India played a significant role during the debate on tourism and climate change in the general assembly session.

Countries like Brazil, Peru, China, Cuba, Chile, Mexico and Argentina expressed fears that Davos Declaration in its present form would adversely impact the scope of tourism. The declaration seeks to reduce the “carbon footprints” of tourists, by curtailing transport activity and subsequent emissions.

Soni commended UNWTO’s efforts in sensitising member states on the challenges of climate change through expert studies and research. She urged the Secretary General to take up the crucial issue of transfer of clean technologies and financial assistance to developing countries to tackle climate change at the forthcoming Bali meeting of UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Conventions on Climate Change) in December .

Meanwhile unhappy over not being provided the due facilities by the India Tourism Department at the World Trade Mart in London, Goa has decided to participate in the meet on its own from next year.

“Next time onwards, we will be participating on our own without getting through India Tourism Department,” state Tourism minister, Fransisco Pacheco, told PTI.

German sports teams to promote tourism

Over 30 tennis, football, badminton, table tennis and volleyball teams from the German cities of Cologne, Munich, Berlin, Hamburg and Magdeburg will tour Sri Lanka in April, 2008 and will play five matches each against their Sri Lankan counterparts in Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Chilaw and Anuradhapura during their two week stay in the island.

The teams will be accompanied by their supporters and family members and sightseeing tours too will be arranged for them to Sigiriya, Anuradhapura, Nuwara Eliya, Hikkaduwa and Unawatuna which would help to boost Sri Lanka as a tourist destination.

Deputy Minister of Tourism Faizer Mustapha in a bid to promote Sri Lanka as a tourist destination for Germans, has successfully negotiated with the Asian-German Sports Exchange Programme to bring sports teams from Germany to Sri Lanka in April next year.

After their stay in Sri Lanka the German teams will visit Malaysia and Thailand for two weeks to play matches against teams from those two countries.

Hot air Balloon takes off

Adventure Asia’s first Hot Air Balloon flight in the south, took off, with nine ballooning enthusiasts in the basket.

At 1,000 meters above ground level, capturing the picturesque sights of the south of Sri Lanka, the balloon floated over, beautiful tea country to the north with a hazy view of Adam’s Peak, and to the south, the spectacular coast with the World Heritage Site Galle Fort and Buddhist Stupa of Rhumassala was seen shining from a distance.

More details could be obtained from [email protected] or visit www.ad-asia.com.