Travel

President Rajapaksa's speech lures Kazakhstan tourists to visit Lanka

Vishmi Wijeratne

Sri Lanka's Bentota Hotel, hosted a group of 36 tourists from Kazakhstan who visited Sri Lanka inspired by a speech delivered by President Mahinda Rajapaksa during his three day visit to Kazakhastan on an invitation extended by his Kazakhstan counterpart President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

The Bentota Beach Hotel

The Kazakhstan group at the hotel

"According to the feedback received from the tourists concering the reason behind visiting Sri Lanka, they said that it was based upon the speech delivered by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

It had basically evoked interst and inspiration in them that led them to search further about the country, which ultimately made them visit Sri Lanka," said Front Office Manager, Bentota Beach Hotel, Romesh Fernando to 'Daily news Business'. The group of tourists had arrived in Sri Lanka on January 4 and made a tour to Kandy and Nuwara Eliya, prior to visiting Bentota.

The group had been thrilled with the rich bio diversity of the country and said that they had thoroughly enjoyed its rich bio diversity," he added.

The group was in Sri Lanka for their Christmas vacation and the staff of the hotel had made efforts to create an enjoyable environment to create nostalgic memories to take away on their return.

"They had occupied 18 rooms and had an enjoyable time, mixing with Russian tourists who were at the hotel. We had 120 tourists all in all and we arranged a Christmas party to enhance their enjoyment," he said.

Fernando said that the tourists' feedback was extremely positive and that they have claimed that they were touched by the hospitality.

"They left with thoughts of returning. They were sure to take their experiences here in Sri Lanka, to their native land and spread the word. This may help in attracting more tourists," he said.

Retailer Virgin France files for bankruptcy

Entertainment retailer Virgin France filed officially for bankruptcy on Wednesday after becoming the latest victim of consumers shifting to buying digital music and video. A judicial source confirmed the company had made the filing, after it said on Tuesday that it would declare insolvency.

The Paris Commercial Court will now decide whether the firm should pursue a recovery plan or be put into liquidation. The seller of CDs and DVDs employs 1,000 workers and operates 26 stores in France, including its flagship Virgin Megastore on the Avenue des Champs Elysees in Paris.

But it has suffered losses for several years and struggled under the weight of a costly lease at the Champs Elysees location.

Several hundred employees rallied outside the Champs Elysees branch on Wednesday, calling for the company's majority shareholder, French investment firm Butler Capital Partners, to invest more to keep Virgin France alive.

Sources close to the investment firm said it had already invested 15 million euros ($19.5 million) in the company. Butler Capital Partners owns 74 percent of Virgin France after buying a controlling stake from media conglomerate Lagardere in 2007, which purchased the company from British businessman Richard Branson's Virgin Group in 2001.

AFP