Travel

Thilanka Hotel Kandy invests Rs. 20 million

Shirajiv SIRIMANE in Kandy

Thilanka Hotel Kandy will invest Rs. 20 million to upgrade 50 rooms. The hotel is also planning to upgrade their property to a three star hotel.

The hotel that commenced operations as a family entity in 1977 with five rooms went through a major upgrade in the 1990’s.

Additional rooms were built while a swimming pool too was introduced to add value to the property.

General Manager of the hotel Anil Perera said that the management has already refurbished 50 rooms to meet the growing demand for the hotel.

He said in addition to a new and growing market from the Gulf they have a steady clientele from Europe, UK and many other destinations.

“We had a year of year occupancy of over 60 per cent last year and over 70 per cent of our clientele were foreigners,” he said.

Today Thilanka comprises of 87 lavish rooms ranging from deluxe rooms and standard rooms to suites. The rooms are awash with bright shades of red, sunny orange and golden yellow. Intricate touches of locality and culture give these chambers a unique aesthetic appeal.

“The Hotel is perfectly situated for adventures and excursions. The Udawatta Kele is right next door and will keep the birdwatcher or trekker well satisfied while the hotel also arranges many other excursions,” he said.

“The Banquet Hall, which is famous for hosting weddings, is also popular among the corporate community for conferences. The Business Centre is well equipped to meet all corporate needs.”

The Ayurvedic Spa, Yoga and Meditation are some of the other major attractions of the hotel.

The new rooms consist of a mini bar, TV, piped music, hot and cold water, Tea Coffee making facility and many more. These rooms are a perfect blend of the traditional and the modern architecture.

Tourism museum for Sigiriya

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has signed a Record of Discussion (R/D) with the concerned authorities of the Central Cultural Fund (CCF) of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and National Heritage (MCANH) and Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) of the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) to initiate a 2.5 year technical cooperation project on “Project for Development of Culture-Oriented Tourism in Sigiriya” (Project COTS).

The project COTS is initiated in line with the request of the Government of Sri Lanka which was intended at developing the tourism sector that was heavily setback by the December 2004 Tsunami and the ongoing civil war status of the country. The Government of Japan responded to this request through extending assistance to several projects in the vicinity of a new museum construction at Sigiriya, installation of display equipment in the museum, and infrastructure and human resource development with respect to tourism.

The “Project to construct a New Sigiriya museum” is being implemented under the counterpart fund scheme of the Government of Sri Lanka, a scheme which delivers developmental assistance through turning foreign aid into reserves of domestic currency where recipient Governments can use these finances to improve its necessary infrastructure facilities. The museum is expected to be opened to the public by middle of year 2009.

Subsequently to the aforementioned, Government of Japan signed an exchange of notes to further enhance the tourism segment under its cultural grant aid scheme through implementing a “Project for supply of equipment for interpretative display and presentation of the cultural heritage of Sigiriya” for installation of display equipment at the New Sigiriya museum.

Financial assistance worth of 2604 million Japanese yen is approved to be provided through the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to improve the infrastructure facilities, access roads and human resources in five identified tourism regions in the country including Sigiriya.

In order to further amplify the outcomes of the aforementioned 03 projects, project COTS aims to extend assistance through hardware and software cooperation and establish the operational and management functions of the new museum, while promoting culture oriented tourism in Sigiriya.

SLTPB of the MoT and CCF of the MCANH will be the joint counterpart stakeholder agencies of the project CoT.

Improving law and order situation help rise tourism in Lanka

The number of tourists visiting Sri Lanka has increased steadily and is expected to cross 7.11 lakh this year, the immigration department has said, attributing it to the improving law and order situation.

“Despite adverse travel advisories by some countries, the tourism arrivals here have only increased substantially depicting the return of peace in the country,” the Controller, Visa, of Sri Lankan Department of Immigration and Emigration, Damayanthi Jayaratne said.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan Tourism (SLT)said an earlier travel advisory imposed by the government of Belgium advising visitors to refrain from non-essential travel to Sri Lanka has been revised since Friday, August 29th last month.

“The new advisory allows tour operators from Belgium to market Sri Lanka aggressively for the upcoming winter season,” it said adding the relaxed travel advisory only mentions travel restrictions to the North and the Eastern regions and Yala.

“It is hoped that the Belgium travel advisory will result in similar relaxations of travel advisory from other European nations as well,” the SLT said in a statement.

Jayaratne said for many foreigners Sri Lanka is a “dream land” with its vast stretches of sea coasts and availability of good infrastructure.

“We have already issued 5.19 lakh tourist visas for foreigner till August 31, 2008 and the tourist season is yet to come,” Jayaratne said adding there were encouraging signs of the levels easily crossing the last years mark of 7.11 lakh. PTI

Convention Bureau links promotion to online bookings

In its overall efforts to woo a sizable share of the Indian MICE outbound traffic, Convention Bureau will be unveiling its outdoor advertising campaign in Hyderabad in mid September this year.

The hoardings that have been designed with Phoenix Ogilvy, ( the advertising Company for Sri Lanka Tourism) will carry the theme of the campaign ‘ Meet in Sri Lanka’ depicting the meetings facilities in diversity of locations and attractions in Sri Lanka. The Bureau has secured prominent locations for the setting up of the hoardings on the Shamshbad Airport Road, Banjara hills and Hitech city to be spotted by a large number of motorists.

“Our timing for this campaign is perfect as all this is happening when PATA Travel Mart is taking place in Hyderabad which would draw a large percentage of Indian travel trade and Travel media in addition to the international visitors to the Travel Mart’, “ says Chairman of Convention Bureau Prema Cooray.

Sri Lanka booth at PATA Travel Mart will be the base for all Bureau’s activities during this time as well as the programs of Sri Lankan MICE industry members. SriLankan Airlines and PATA Sri Lanka Chapter will join hands with the Bureau in this promotion with its members to give a boost to the ‘ Meet in Sri Lanka’ campaign.

Among the industry leaders joining the Sri Lankan delegation are Prema Cooray Chairman SLCB, Renton de Alwis Chairman Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Manoj Gunawardena SriLankan Airlines, Amal Goonatilleke Chairman PATA Sri Lanka Chapter, Hiran Cooray Jetwing, Abbas Esufally Hem Tours, and Rajiv Kanna of Galle Face.

Over 20 Sri Lankan Companies are offering packages for Indian Corporates for the Meetings and Incentives. SriLankan Airlines will also assist the MICE industry in Sri Lanka joining this promotion with special packages. Three other Indian Airlines have are also featuring their sites through SLCB website.

Sri Lanka wishes to capture at least 10 % of Indian outbound MICE market within the next two years in this promotional drive.

The unique feature in this exercise is the linking up of the advertising to business transactions where the Indian Corporates and Meeting planners could access special packages offered by Sri Lankan MICE operators through www.visitsrilanka.net, the official website of Sri Lanka Convention Bureau.