TRAVEL

Taj Samudra trains commandos in hospitality

Eleven army commandos who completed a three months training on culinary and food and beverage trades conducted by Hotel Taj Samudra, Colombo received their certificates from Taj General Manager Rohit Khosla.

The hotel initiated the program on a request from the Sri Lanka Army Commando regiment to add professionalism to their staff handling ceremonial functions.

Commando Centre Commandant, Lieutenant Colonel Chaminda Chandrasekara thanked the Hotel staff for the opportunity given for his men to receive training free.

He said there was a dearth of professional knowledge among the soldiers handling military banquets, officers messes and similar other occasions where such knowledge is necessary.

He thanked the hotel for volunteering to help the army.

Sri Lanka Area Director and General Manager Rohit Khosla thanked the army for giving him the honour to train its men, who did a great service to their country.

He said he and his staff are very proud to see that the soldiers of elite Commando Regiment were trained at the hotel. He also praised the high standards of discipline and competency shown by the soldiers during the training.

Hotel Executive Chef Dhithya Krawage, Human Resources Manager Priyadarshani Abeyrathne and members of the hotel staff were also present.

Lotus Park Trincomalee in Rs 100 m expansion

The Lotus Park Hotel in Trincomalee is under a major expansion worth Rs 100 million.

The investment includes a new complex with 27 rooms. Lotus Park Hotel General Manager K Vaithiyanadan said the new rooms will be available for visitors by end of January.

There will be a total of 55 rooms of different categories such as double, single, family room and suites with all the facilities.

He said there is an increasing demand for hotel rooms at present with a large number of local visitors coming from abroad on vacation and visiting Trincomalee.

The hotel management decided to go for an expansion to meet this demand. There are 40 employees at the hotel and a number of indirect employment for various suppliers have emerged such as food items, transport and beach vendors. The hotel expects to increase the number of employees before and after the opening ceremony as required.

A large number of foreigners are expected between June to September this year and it can accommodate 150 visitors.

An average of 75 visitors per month were accommodated during the last six months who were mostly local tourists. Vaithiyanadan said the hotel was constructed in 2004 and it suffered heavy damage due to the tsunami waves shortly after construction and was renovated again.

Due to the war situation at that time very few visitors like Government officials occupied the hotel and it was rented out to a monitoring team for two years which helped to maintain sustainability.

“The Green Park Beach Hotel situated in the city also belongs to the same company and expansion of that hotel also will be considered after capturing business at new Lotus Park Hotel,” he said.

Expedia drops American Airlines

Internet-based travel company Expedia said Sunday it has suspended the sale of American Airlines tickets from its website, calling American’s new direct marketing strategy “anti-consumer and anti-choice.”

“As a result, the sale of American Airlines flights on our website has been suspended,” Expedia said in a statement, adding however that it remained “open to doing business with American Airlines on terms that are satisfactory to Expedia.”

“American Airlines is attempting to introduce a new direct connect model that will result in higher costs and reduced transparency for consumers, making it difficult to compare American Airlines ticket prices and options with offerings by other airlines,” it added.

The airlines’ AA Direct Connect model “would compromise travel agents’ ability to provide travellers with the best selection,” said Expedia adding the new commercial strategy “we believe in anti-consumer and anti-choice.”

Expedia’s announcement followed AA’s move on Wednesday severing its decade-long ties to online travel giant Orbitz in a dispute over the same policy.

American Airlines recently indicated it wants to take greater control of how it sells tickets and other goods and services to online travel agencies.

American hopes to convince future online ticketing clearinghouses to use an electronic pipeline of its own creation, called AA Direct Connect.

Despite its row with Expedia and Orbitz, American Airlines last week said ticket sales have gone up since December 21, with the loss of the two online travel giants compensated by other sites, including Priceline and Kayak and its own AA.com website.

“We do not envision a future in which we only sell to our customers through our own branded website,” AA sales director Derek DeCross said in a press release on Wednesday. “Our goal is to have broad distribution channels and choices for our customers, with our products and services delivered efficiently and without unnecessary costs flowing through the process,” he added.

Consumer advocates have warned that if other airline carriers follow suit in sidestepping the industry’s online travel websites — which, in addition to Orbitz and Expedia includes Priceline — passengers could lose a powerful money-saving tool.

New York, (AFP)

Taiwan to lift ban on Chinese tourists

Taiwan is expected to lift its decades-old ban on visits by individual Chinese tourists from April in yet another sign of the island’s fast-warming ties with China, officials and local media said Sunday. Currently Chinese are only allowed to travel to the island in groups as Taiwan’s authorities are concerned they might otherwise over-stay their visas and work illegally.

“We’re ready for the further opening measures,” an official at Taiwan’s China policy decision-making body Mainland Affairs Council said on condition of anonymity.

She would not provide details, but the Taipei-based China Times said that up to 500 residents from Shanghai and Beijing would be permitted to travel to the island each day on a trial basis. “The two sides have reached a consensus on the long-anticipated policy, with the measures starting around the Tomb Sweeping Day” which falls on April 5, the Times said, without identifying its source.

Solo Chinese tourists would be allowed to stay in Taiwan for up to 15 days, it said. When asked to comment on the report, Chen Chiung-wen, an official at Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau, said she expected the new measures to be realised soon “as they meet the targets of the two sides”.

She said “tourists from China for the first time will be given the chance of making in-depth tours of Taiwan,” adding that further discussion would be needed.

The daily quota of Chinese visitors was increased from 3,000 to 4,000 from Saturday, according to an agreement reached in Taipei last month.

TAIPEI, (AFP)