Travel

Lanka to open tourism office in Dubai

Having seen the potential of the market, Sri Lanka Tourism will open a tourism promotion office in Dubai next month with an officer in-charge for the Middle East region. Beginning of this year, Sri Lanka Tourism tied up with Al Jazeera TV channel to promote the destination.

Sri Lanka Tourism delegates will participate in the 14th annual Arabian Travel Market (ATM) which is to be held at the International Exhibition and Convention Centre from May 6 to 9.

The ATM is the industry's leading travel and tourism exhibition dedicated to unlock business potential within the Middle East and Pan Arab regions.

Sri Lanka Tourism delegates attending the event for the fifth consecutive year and will participate in the intensive meetings, seminars, press conferences and social networking opportunities along with key market players from six continents. Sri Lanka Tourism delegation is headed by the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Faizer Mustapha, who played a key role to promote the event will set off for Dubai on May 6.

A tactical promotional offer 'Middle East Kids Go Free', by SriLankan Airlines, for every adult ticket purchased, one child is offered a free flight, will also be launched. The theme of the SriLankan stall this year will be 'Ceylon Tea'. The stall will also display gem and jewellery and demonstration of handicraft making. The highlight of the exhibition will be the performance of Channa's dance troupe.

The outbound tourist from the Mid East region has increased for the last few years. The highest performer between January and March this year was the Middle East, which registered an increase of 80.6 per cent in comparison with 2007.

Of the 294.6 per cent growth from the region in March this year, Iranian tourists formed the major portion with arrivals of 1,300 during the month. These arrivals were the result of the operation of nine charter flights supported by Sri Lanka Tourism.

All Serendib Hotels rated among top 100 Brands

The recent brand ratings evaluated by Brand Finance Limited (Pvt) Ltd and published in the LMD issue of April 2008, rates all three Serendib Hotels (Hotel Serendib, Club Hotel Dolphin and Hotel Sigiriya) among the top 100 Brands in Sri Lanka.

In the top 100, Serendib Hotel is ranked at the 68th position, while Club Hotel Dolphin is ranked at 71st and Hotel Sigiriya at the 88th position. In the hotel sector, Serendib Hotel is ranked 3, preceded by Taj Hotels and Trans Asia (ranked No. 1 & 2 respectively).

According to this study, the leading brands in Sri Lanka are Dialog, Cargills Food City and Sri Lanka Telecom at 1 , 2 and 3 positions respectively. The study has been done on listed companies, where annual reports and other information for the particular brand is available.

The hospitality industry is the most widely represented in the table with 20 brands. In the brand rating category, Club Hotel Dolphin earns BB, the highest rating by a hotel, while Hotel Sigiriya is rated BB- and Serendib Hotel is rated B- . The top ratings are AA+ for Singer, AA for Cargils Food City and AA for Dialog.

The justifiably proud CEO Srilal Miththapala said "I am absolutely delighted to see these results. Over the past five years, the Serendib Leisure team has worked hard to build character and brand value in our hotel properties.

After an in depth strategic analysis, we decided not to pursue with an umbrella brand for our hotels, and decided instead, to individually build the brand characteristic of each individual hotel separately. This has paid rich dividends and for Serenidb Hotel to come at No. 3 is quite a considerable achievement".

Serendib Leisure manages the three hotels, namely Serendib Hotel - Bentota, Club Hotel Dolphin - Waikkal and Hotel Sigiriya - Sigiriya.

Club Hotel Dolphin is the great fun and beach hotel, full of activity providing top class animation, fun and games. It also caters to a deserving corporate clientele with its well equiped conference and banquet facilities. On the other hand, Serendib Hotel is positioned as an elegant beach side resort, built in traditional architecture with a Dutch flavour, designed by the world renowned, Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa.

The beach at Serendib Hotel is arguably the best in the region. Hotel Sigiriya situated at the foot of the world famous Sigiriya rock, is today one of Sri Lanka's leading environment friendly resort hotels, providing guests with a rich experience to reconnect with nature and culture and has been in the forefront environment energy conservation.

"Eventhough our resources were limited, the very focused effort in building our brands has been very successful, and today Hotel Sigiriya is fast becoming the benchmark and showcase as a typical environment friendly hotel" said Thishani Jayatunge, Marketing Manager.

Convention Bureau promotions at GIBTM

GIBTM 2008 Gulf Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings Exhibition was held at Abu Dhabi International Exhibition Centre recently for the second Consecutive year with 245 exhibitors promoting wide range of services and 239 hosted buyers.

Sri Lanka Convention Bureau which is the Government Arm to promote the meetings industry in Sri Lanka.

In its strategy to reach out to Corporates in the Middle East took advantage of this event with its partner SriLankan Airlines with an effective presence at the GIBTM to promote the country as a venue for Meetings and Incentives.

'With increase of visitor arrivals from this region, we have a better chance of convincing the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) segment that Sri Lanka is an ideal location for their activities' says the Bureau while accepting that although Middle East is still generating a small percentage of MICE business compared to India, it takes a while to get the word of mouth across from credible sources after their experiences in Sri Lanka to confirm what we promise at these promotions.

Sri Lanka Tourism showcased at COTTM

Sri Lanka portrayed as one of the promising markets for the Chinese traveller at the China Outbound Travel and Tourism Market (COTTM) which was held recently at the China World Exhibition Centre in Beijing. With 200 trade exhibitors from all over China, 400 top level Chinese hosted buyers and over 200 exhibitors from more than 50 countries, COTTM is widely recognized as the premier event that serves the Chinese outbound travel industry.

The Sri Lanka booth was designed and constructed by the Sri Lanka Embassy on behalf of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Authority, projecting main tourist and cultural attractions to Chinese visitors.

In addition to the distribution of information related to Sri Lanka tourist attractions and tour packages among visitors, the Embassy assisted local representatives of Sri Lanka travel companies to interact with top level Chinese buyers.

As a result of the measures taken by the Tourism Promotion Wing of the Embassy jointly with Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Authority, SriLankan Airlines and Sri Lanka travel industry, Chinese tour operators and leisure travellers have shown a keen interest during the last few years, to know more about Sri Lanka and its travel trade as an emerging leisure destination for high end Chinese travellers.

The positive response received from the Chinese travel industry has given more confidence to the Sri Lankan tour operators.

Jetwing Ayurveda Pavilions welcome Miss Germany

Kim Valerie Voigt, the reigning Miss Germany was warmly welcomed at Jetwing Ayurveda Pavilions recently along with Carina Alexandra Nix who was the third runner up and Claudia Hein who is the current 'Beauty of the World' in Germany.

While at Jetwing Ayurveda Pavilions, the three beauty queens experienced a few traditional Ayurvedic treatments. They only had praise for the hotel and for the experience, "I have to say I felt bad two hours ago, and now I feel like I can go party" said Miss Germany, Kim Valerie Voigt. She also said that she had previously experienced an Ayurvedic treatment in Germany, but had not liked it very much. Jetwing Ayurveda Pavilions had changed her feelings towards Ayurveda.

Jetwing Ayurveda Pavilions offer the services of some of the most qualified Ayurveda Specialists in the country who prescribe a wide range of preventive and curative Ayurvedic remedies including for weight loss.

The Team consists of well qualified and experienced doctors. Ayurvedic treatment has proved particularly successful in the treatment of chronic ailments as well as psychosomatic problems, such as neuralgia and rheumatic pain. The treatments are strongly focused on mobilising the body's own resistance mechanisms.

The soothing head massages and oil treatments, for a well balanced mind and a well tailored detoxification programs are a must for a comprehensive slimming concept.

Tasty organically grown food, tailor made to a guest's bio-energetic type will assist to spin the wheel in the right direction.

Jetwing has also launched a specialist arm to promote the aspect of wellness in our hotels headed by Rookamanie Fernandom, the former General Manager of Jetwing Ayurveda Pavillions. She will overlook the further development and promotion of this very exciting aspect with lots of new additions and experiences due to be introduced soon.

The Jetwing Hotels that now offer Spa and Ayurveda in addition to other traditional Wellness facilities are Jetwing Beach in Negombo, Jetwing Tropical Villas and Ayurveda in Beruwela, Jetwing Lighthouse in Galle and Jetwing Vil Uyana in Sigiriya.

The three beauties also visited Jetwing Vil Uyana, Jetwing St. Andrew's and Jetwing Lighthouse during their tour of Sri Lanka.

Bentota Beach Hotel occupancy rate spills

One of Sri Lanka's prime southern destinations, the Bentota Beach Hotel which is a member of the Keells Hotel Management Services recorded a 100 per cent occupancy for the avurudu season establishing that there is in fact a rapid revival in the country's tourist industry.

Present holiday season left many locals in desperate pursuit for hotels to spend the avurudu season with their families while most hotels recorded an at least 80 per cent occupancy.

Bakmaha Sanakeli celebrations at Bentota Beach Hotel were celebrated in a real traditional spirit with the beat of Raban Sural and village womenfolk making kavum, kokis, athirasa and other sweet meats in the restaurant with a perfect blend of tradition and culture.

New Year games patronized by both the locals and foreigners in the hotel's big lush green garden and the kopi kade, the traditional toddy hut with spicy local dishes and the sounds of live oriental music and Kandyan dances made the event successful.

General Manager of the Bentota Beach Hotel, Sanjeeva Perera, says that he is bent on maintaining high standards and finesse in every aspect of the hotel's operations. The Pontoon, the riverboat gives visitors the chance to share special moments, dance and take a romantic river cruise under the stars.

The thrills of water sports in Bentota Beach Hotel is famous. It is well equipped with a Sports Complex and Ayuruvedic Spa and water sports like wind surfing, boating, scuba diving, jet skiing, water skiing, banana boating and deep sea fishing.

The lovely natural rock swimming pool has also become one of the hotel's attractions. "By next year under the proposed refurbishment, biggest kiddies pool in Sri Lanka would be added, said General Manager." (RKA)