Jan 24, Colombo: Air Senok, a fully owned subsidiary of Senok Trade Combine of Sri Lanka has introduced a new domestic airline service to boost the tourism industry in the country.

Citrus Leisure Plc on Saturday officially launched its first venture Citrus Hikkaduwa with Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa as the Chief Guest. The opening of 93-room Citrus Hikkaduwa (formerly Amaya Reef with only 50 rooms) drew a galaxy of VIPs as well as business and tourism industry leaders. MPs Namal Rajapaksa and Mohan Silva, Southern ...

    9,400 new rooms approved, 5,300 more being processed     82,508 arrivals within 21 days of January; Income from visa fee tops half million dollar mark Confirming post-war rebound is gathering pace the Sri Lanka Tourism Chairman Dr. Nalaka Godahewa on Saturday

Signifying another milestone of the Post-War development in Sri Lanka, the Jaffna International Trade Fair 2012 has been declared open yesterday by Douglas Devananda, the Minister of Traditional Industries & Small Enterprise Development. The Jaffna International Trade Fair (JITF), which is focused on marketing the opportunities in the virgin market of Jaffna peninsula to private ...

Tourism sources stated that Sri Lanka Tourism has planned to attract one million tourists in 2012. They added that in the first half of this month over 60,000 tourists have arrived in the country and a considerable amount of foreign exchange earned. Sources noted that tourism recorded 860,000

Sri Lanka Tourism has earned over 390,000 dollars in revenue for the past 15 days of this year.   Sri Lank...

By Cheranka Mendis Sri Lanka has welcomed 60,989 tourists within the first 16 days of the year and is expecting to end the month with 100,000 arrivals, Economic Development Deputy Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardana said. Tracked with the online visa arrival scheme, the number, if it reaches 100,000, would be the highest-ever recorded, breaking the ...

Serendib Leisure announced the strategic appointment of Sanjika Perera as Director – Projects and Business Development for the group’s hotels with effect from 9 January 2012. An accomplished Chartered Marketer and FCIM, Perera brings a wealth of experience in sales and marketing expertise earned in Sri Lanka and abroad, namely the United Kingdom. As Direct...

How the key industry progressed last yearBy Cheranka Mendis Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, which saw a 30.8% growth over the previous year in 2011, has been driven by key markets India, UK and Germany and is likely to be the foremost contributor in 2012 as well. Named as ‘Visit Sri Lanka year,’ 2011 saw the ...

In Sri Lanka we have population close to 21 million. According to China Tourism Academy (CTA), 57.39 million Chinese tourists travelled overseas in 2010! Global Trends Report 2011, which was released at World Travel Market in London, highlights the fact that Chinese tourists contributed US$ 57 billion on accommodation in 2011, third in the world ...

The Bocuse d’Or Sri Lanka, along with the support of Sri Lanka Tourism and hoteliers, has selected Buddika Samarasekara, the Chef of Colombo Hilton and Isuru Sampath, Apprentice Chef of Colombo Hilton, out of 11 finalist in Sri Lanka for the finals of Bocuse d’Or Asia, 2012

World famous and leading carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) yesterday emphasised its optimism over prospects in Sri Lanka and renewed its longstanding commitment to promote the destination in addition to continuing with superior service. The reiteration of positivism was when SIA announced its new General Manager for Sri Lanka Aldrin Arumugam succeeding Melvin Ng, who will ...

A recent visit by British Royals to the country is a boost for tourism, the Sri Lankan government of..

Jan 09, Colombo: A recent visit by British Royals to the country is a boost for tourism, the Sri Lankan government officials said Monday.

The new visa processing system implemented from January 1 this year has found that there were a ‘considerable’ number of visitors obtaining on-arrival visas. Immigration Controller Chulananda Perera told the Sunday Times that it had been observed that a considerable number of applicants preferred to obtain on-arrival visas. In this respect, there are currently three counters provided a...

Another Royal visit took place in Sri Lanka recently with the arrival of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. They were here on a private visit which paved the way for them visit a few tourist attractions in Sri Lanka. Prince Michael was accompanied by Princess Michael during the tour in Sri Lanka. Among the ...

Ends 2011 with record 855,975 arrivalsBy Cheranka Mendis The high-flying tourism industry closed the year with a record 855,975 arrivals, marking a rise of 100,000 from the original target for the year. Statistics revealed by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) yesterday noted

Jan 06, Colombo: Sri Lanka's tourist arrivals hit a record high in December with 97,517 tourists arriving in the island, the data released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Friday showed.

Sri Lanka Tourism recorded the highest number of tourist arrivals in any one month, in December 2011 that of 97,517

Following are excerpts of an interview with Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) Secretary T.M.F. Packeer, who is also Managing Director and CEO of Asian Exotica Ltd. Q: Sri Lanka Tourism has a very clear future standing as articulated by the President, of 2.5 million visitors

British investors are keen on investing in Sri Lanka’s new phase and are specifically eyeing Sri Lanka’s tourism sector. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka has invited strong business and industry delegations from UK to Sri Lanka’s Expo 2012 show. “Sri Lanka’s tourism sector is very promising with good potential,” said James Wharton, the visiting British MP. Wharton ...

Sri Lanka says, currently 197 hotel projects are underway in the country which once completed will add 12,579 hotel rooms to the local tourism industry. According to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Shangri-La, Sheraton, Hyatt and Sun City are among the international hotel chains that have entered the local tourism industry to start tourism ventures. The ...

World’s leading and the most discerning and trusted monthly travel magazine in Britain Condé Nast Traveller has nominated Sri Lanka as one of the top five destinations to watch in 2012. The travel experts of the magazine have predicted that Sri Lanka will be among the hottest new holiday destination for travellers in the coming ...

This year a Tangalle politician saw fit to celebrate Christmas by firing a T56 assault rifle in the air and allegedly assaulting and killing a British tourist. In October, two ruling party politicians ended a local election by shooting each other on the streets of Colombo. How President Mahinda Rajapaksa deals with these violent and ...

to accept the body, the funeral will be conducted at the expense of Sri Lanka Tourism, he said. According...

Dec 31, Colombo: A South African firm is to invest US$ 800 million in a tourism project in Sri Lanka to build a hotel complex in the northwestern coastal town of Katana, the Chairman of the Tourism Board has said.

The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority is to implement a program to inspect establishments which afford services to tourists visiting the country.

Reuters: South Africa’s Sun City resort will invest $ 800 million in a tourism project in Sri Lanka, the Gead of the State-run Tourism Board said on Friday. Sun City resort is run by South African gaming and hotels group Sun International Ltd. It will be the largest ever investment in the country’s leisure sector, ...

South Africa's Sun City resort will invest $800 million in a tourism project in Sri Lanka, the head of the island nation's state-run Tourism Board said on Friday.

South Africa’s Sun City resort will invest $800 million in a tourism project in Sri Lanka, the head of the island nation’s state-run Tourism Board said on Friday.