LEISURE

Miraj Colombo, new boutique luxury in Wellawatta

H D H Senewiratne

Meeting the needs of more hotel facilities to cater to the increasing number of tourists arriving in the country, Miraj Colombo, a new luxury boutique beach hotel would be constrcuted in Marine Drive, Wellawatta.

Miraj Colombo a seven storeyed hotel would be built with an investment of Rs700 million and open its doors to public, foreign and local tourists in three months'time in September to serve them better, Chairman Miraj Hotels Company Limited Prabath Fonseka said.

This new look hotel offers the ultimate in relaxed comfort and contemporary style. Facilities include 64 guestrooms and suites, bars and two restaurants. They will offer rooms with a realistic and affordable rates. At present local room rates are not competitive with other tourists' destinations in the region, he said.

The hotel would introduce a swimming pool in the third floor in the hotel which gives a feeling that the pool and the sea are in the same elevation and other features which include a gym, kid's pool, spa and two restaurants to experience different cuisines within the hotel itself, he said.

According to the Chairman the construction of the hotel is to be completed in just 10 months before schedule and the Bank of Ceylon has partly funded for the project, which was a great strength for them to construct this hotel within a short span of time, he added.

Fonseka won several outstanding entrepreneur awards for his business acumen and Miraj Colombo was his latest addition to his business, which would be built with unique architecture, blending latest style for total 64 spacious rooms and has deluxe and family rooms and suites with private balconies overlooking the Indian Ocean.

"All rooms are sound proof to protect the privacy and the tranquility because tourists are coming here to spend their holidays in peace and harmony," he said.

"I am considering adding further facilities to the property including water sports to the hotel to meet the growing demand and to give a naval experience to hotel occupants," Fonseka said. Since the hotel situated in front of the ocean it is quite easy to introduce water sports for their customers, which he intends to do so when they hotel is ready for occupation in three months' time, he said. The hotel has two safety passages, which conform to all international required standards. The company also allocated three rooms for disabled persons as well and was one of few hotels in the country that caters to that segment, he said.

The unique feature of the hotel was that it was a eco- friendly hotel, which saves energy and water with latest systems. All washrooms and toilets were fixed with eco flashers to prevent water wastage and energy saving equipment were also being fixed to prevent waste of energy and to enhance energy efficiency.

All rooms were provided with solar heated water to save energy, Fonseka said. They intend to market Miraj through international travel and tour operators to revamp its hospitality offering to cater to the constantly evolving needs of local and international travellers, Fonseka said.

SIA signs MoU with Changi airport group, South African tourism

Singapore Airlines has signed a memorandum of co-operation (MoC) with Changi Airport Group and South African Tourism to promote travel to South Africa.

Under the agreement, the three parties will explore and implement activities jointly to promote tourist traffic to South Africa through Singapore Airlines' services to Cape Town and Johannesburg via Singapore's Changi Airport.

The parties have agreed to invest more than S$1 million in cash and in-kind collectively over the next one year to support advertising and promotional campaigns, as well as familiarisation programmes for trade and media representatives.

"South Africa is an important market to us and one which we have been serving for over 20 years. We are pleased to work together with CAG and SAT to develop and promote tourism from key markets in the Asia-Pacific such as China, Singapore and Australia to this fast-growing tourist destination which is renowned for its natural beauty, vibrant cosmopolitan cities and famous wildlife reserves,"

said Singapore Airlines' Acting Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing, Chin Yau Seng.

CAG's Senior Vice President of Market Development, Lim Ching Kiat, added: "With Changi Airport's dense connectivity to China and Australia, as well as our award-winning airport services and facilities, we are confident that passengers on transit to South Africa will enjoy a first-class experience at Changi Airport."

South African Tourism Chief Executive Officer, Thulani Nzima, explained: "We have aggressively sought tourism growth from emerging markets such as Australasia, a region in which we grew 25.1% and attracted 541,253 tourists in 2012.

Singapore is an extremely important hub for us in the Australasia region and this agreement with Changi Airport and Singapore Airlines is part of our commitment to co-operate with some of the world's leading global tourism industry players to stimulate tourism growth to South Africa. We are very excited about this agreement, which will be trade-driven and includes consumer activities promoting travel to South Africa in one of the world's most important passenger hubs."

Singapore Airlines operates daily flights to Johannesburg and four flights a week to Cape Town from Changi Airport.

AirAsiaX plans huge fleet expansion with IPO

Malaysian long-haul budget carrier AirAsia X said Monday it plans to use proceeds from a public listing to more than triple its fleet in the next four years to meet demand in Asia-Pacific.

Aviation tycoon Tony Fernandes said the long-haul arm of budget giant AirAsia hopes to raise up to US$277 million in an initial public offering (IPO) ahead of its July 10 debut on the Malaysian bourse.

"Complete with our extensive route networks and passenger base, we have one of the lowest-unit cost base of any airline in the world," the AirAsia founder said at the prospectus launch.

AirAsia X currently has 10 Airbus A330-300 planes and serves 14 routes across the region, including destinations in Australia, China, Japan and Saudi Arabia.

It will take delivery of another 23 of the planes over the next four years beginning in July, while it has also placed a firm order for 10 A350-900s beyond that. In its summary prospectus, AirAsia X said the IPO could raise RM859 million (US$277 million) from sale of 592.6 million new shares for between 1.15 to 1.45 ringgit each.

A third of the funds raised will be used to repay debt while another third is slated for capital expenditure, with the balance going to working capital and listing expenses. AirAsia X previously scrapped London flights because of the European debt crisis and focused on serving routes within Asia-Pacific, where sustained economic growth has swelled the middle class.

AFP

Target Travels organises three domestic tours in July

Target Travels who re-introduced domestic tours in May, has envisaged more Sri Lankans and expats joining their scheduled tours in the coming months. In order to address this emerging market, Target Travels has introduced three tours during the months of June andJuly.

The first tour (June 9 to 11), is to Digana (Kandy) Albatross Luxury Boutique Villa, where guests could explore the surrounding areas such as Mahiyangana, Dambana, 18 hair pin bends, Hunnasgiriya Corbert's Gap to mention a few.

Meals are included on a Full Board basis. As these tours are fully guided, guests would benefit from the detailed descriptions of places visited, history of the regions and would travel in comfort throughout the journey.

The second tour is to the Mullaitivu Camp during July 1 to 3, where the two nights stay would be at the Army's Green House and Lagoons Edge.

"This tour had been popular with all Sri Lankans who value our war hero's final effort in crushing the LTTE in Mullaitivu. We will visit all major sites and you will be given a detailed background into the history, significance and the sequence of events that had taken place during the last few stages of the war," an official from the company said.

The third tour is tailor made to high-end Golfers exclusively, to spend a weekend (Sat/Sun) in Trincomalee (China Bay), with return air transport by Sri Lankan Air Force helicopters, while the stay would be at the Air Force camp.

While these three domestic tours are being operated, Target Travels would also launch a foreign out-bound tour to popular destination Myanmar from June 22 to July 1, covering Yangon, Shwedagon, Bagan, Mandalay, Mingun, Sagaing, Inlay Lake, Pindaya and Kaihityo (Golden Rock). After the release of Daw Aung San Sukiy to main stream politics in Myanmar, the country is experiencing a "Boom" in tourism with all roads leading to Yangon and Mandalay.

Zurich to Join Emirates A380 Network next year

Emirates, one of the fastest growing airlines in the world, will boost its services to Switzerland with the start of a daily A380 service to Zurich.

From 1st January 2014, EK087 from Dubai to Zurich and its return sector EK088 will be operated by an A380, offering an increased capacity of more than 1,100 additional seats every week in each direction. The service is currently operated by a Boeing 777-300ER. Emirates will continue to serve Zurich with a double daily operation, which will equate to more than 870 seats on offer per day.

"The strategic decision to bring our flagship A380 to Zurich was made to support the city's strong position as a financial services hub and centre for a vast number of international companies.

"Travellers from Switzerland will soon be able to enjoy the Emirates A380, being seamlessly connected through the Dubai hub to our dynamically growing network, providing connectivity to global hubs in Asia and Australia such as Bangkok, Sydney and Singapore. These markets, which are positioned as economic and tourism centres, are served with multiple daily flights," added Antinori.

"The decision of Emirates to operate its flagship aircraft on one of its two daily flights to Zurich represents another milestone for Zurich Airport and demonstrates the strong demand from travelers for the Emirates product. The upgrade from a Boeing 777 operation to an A380 on the afternoon flight from Zurich is a significant capacity increase and a clear commitment to the Swiss market," said Thomas Kern, CEO Zurich Airport.

The A380 capacity boost on the flights to Zurich will further stimulate trade between the UAE and Switzerland, supporting a buoyant $9 billion USD trade relationship, according the UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade. Over 169 Swiss companies operate in Dubai and SkyCargo supports movement of goods such as precious metals, watches, jewelry, heavy machinery and pharmaceuticals, giving local businesses greater access to foreign markets.

Superlink honoured by Oman Air
 

Superlink Travels who won an award as the Best Outbound Tour Operator in Sri Lanka, having been recognized by Oman Air at their 'Awards Night' held at the Kingsbury Hotel, Colombo recently. Gihan Karunaratne, Country Manager, Sri Lanka and Maldives, Oman Air, presenting the award to Rodney Koelmeyer, Chairman/Managing Director Superlink Travels (Pvt) Ltd.