Travel and tourism is set for a milestone year as the industry’s direct contribution to the global economy is expected to pass $2 trillion in GDP and 100 million jobs. According to research by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the global travel and tourism industry will grow by 2.8% in 2012, marginally faster ...

DUBAI (Reuters): World’s tallest building? Check. Man-made islands in the sea? Check. Indoor ski slope? Check. Now it’s time for opera and art. Dubai, which burst onto the global stage with a series of extravagant projects before being subdued by a crippling debt crisis, has now revived plans for an opera house in a bid ...

Reuters: Sri Lanka's tea production edged down 0.6 percent in February due to high base in the same month last year, the state-run tea board said on Wednesday. Sri Lanka's February tea output was 21.98 million kg compared to 22.13 million kg in February 2011. The production in the first two months has increased 4.7 ...

Today is World Water DayBy Marianne David Recalling King Parakramabahu’s famous quote on water conservation and utilisation – ‘do not release even a drop of rain water to the sea without putting it to good use’ – Environmental Scientist Professor Sarath Kotagama called on Sri Lankans to “regain what was once ours by going back ...

Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa was an invitee panellist at the prestigious India Today Conclave 2012 held in New Delhi from 16-17 March 2012. The India Today Conclave, which is held annually, has seen the participation of leading Indian and international personalities such as Shah Rukh Khan, Mohamed El Baradei, Sarah Palin, Dominique De Villepin, Union Minister ...

Loss-making State-owned enterprises are nothing new in Sri Lanka. One of the better known ones is SriLankan Airlines, which was given to Emirates due to its inability to breakeven but was retaken by the present Government. Pros and cons of this move is history but cash-strapped and a midst losses, it appears that the Government ...

Today is 19 March 2012. The day and the month of March are significant in the lives of many people – some celebrating birthdays, some wedding anniversaries, while others nurse what is yet left over from the hangover of the three day drawn encounter that we experienced a week ago or the limited over Royal ...

By Cheranka Mendis Tourism in the South Asian sub region will be collectively promoted with Buddhism and ecotourism circuits at the lead during the next five years through a road map designed by the five-member South Asia Sub Region Tourism Working Group (TWG). Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa launches the South Asia sub regional tourism ...

With just 12 days to go, Sri Lanka’s largest mega trade, investment and tourism promotion initiative ‘Expo 2012’ has attracted close to 1,200 people, exceeding the expected 1,000 mark, EDB Chairman Janaka Ratnayake said yesterday. Speaking to the Daily FT, he asserted that the number of participants had increased by 500 from last week, when ...

By Cheranka Mendis Despite the Central Bank’s forecast reading 7.2% growth for 2012, RAM Ratings Lanka CEO Adrian Perera is confident that the country can touch the 7.5%-7.6% mark by the end of the year. Perera told the Daily FT that the new projection is a realistic number from the 8% noted at the beginning ...

My column today is an attempt to focus our attention on a few less spoken or untold developments that may have a profound influence on how we carve our way through in creating a desirable social, economic and political future for mankind on this only planet of ours. While I will not specifically touch on ...

MANILA, PHILIPPINES: Economic growth in the Pacific region is expected to slow to 6.0% in 2012 from 7.0% in 2011, according to the latest Pacific Economic Monitor released yesterday by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The slowdown is driven by lower growth in large resource-exporting economies that dominate regional growth. The Pacific region continues to ...

As the world decides vote on Sri Lanka on the methods used on the eradication of terrorism in the country, my mind goes back to the December 2008 when three of us were organising the staging of the first Industrial Exhibition in Jaffna so that the north gets connected to south on an economic front. ...

It is pleasant to lead a peaceful life with no encumbrances and without debts. In the modern world, debt has become a part of life like breath. In Sri Lankan society, it has not been the case and the practice before. It has been a burden and a commitment for somebody to live in a ...

The 46th ITB Berlin, which gets underway today, is a more political event than ever before: the European debt crisis, turmoil in certain countries within the Middle East, climate protection and sustainability, as well as EU emissions trading. All these topics will be discussed at the ITB Convention by leading figures from the travel industry.  ...

Scanning through the papers recently after the Central Bank of Sri Lanka published its 2011 external sector performance report, I was reminded of a pithy observation made by William W. Watt: “Do not put your faith in what statistics say until you have carefully considered what they do not say.” Some of the data were ...

By Cheranka Mendis Gathered to discuss the implications, opportunities and challenges of the sudden announcement and introduction of the Government’s new policies, the export community was advised by a panel of experts to watch ahead, be prepared and make their own judgments from the information provided. With the country facing no immediate risks of getting ...

Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani Wednesday said talks are necessary for permanent and solid relations between India and Pakistan. Speaking at a reception in honour of Indian parliamentary delegation led by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar here at Prime Minister House, Gilani hoped that ongoing dialogue process with India will prove productive. Indian Prime ...

Human Rights Council Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights and the Human Rights Council are noble bodies structured for the benefit of the humans representing the “Family of Nations”.  These bodies are sacred because they are set up for the sacred duty of prevention, promotion and protection of the mankind through the “Honourable” ...

SRI LANKA this week has seen new investors cutting the first sod for several of many new hotels to be built. As reported on today’s front page, construction of the world renowned Shangri-La’s much reported luxury hotel commenced in Colombo whilst today a similar exercise will take place in the deep South for its resort ...

Avoiding a crisis The Pathfinder Foundation (PF) commends the Treasury and Central Bank for the policy measures introduced recently. This has prevented an external payments crisis. Without remedial action, the country would not have been able to meet its debt obligations and/or finance essential imports within a short period of time. The increases in the ...

Reuters: Sri Lanka’s tea production rose a slight six per cent in January compared to the same month a year ago, when output was especially low, the State-run Tea Board said on Tuesday. January tea output was 22.41 million kg compared to 21.14 million kg in January 2011. “This is the normal output. The increase ...

NAIROBI (Reuters): Kenya’s tourism revenues rose 32 per cent to 98 billion shillings ($1.18 billion) last year after the country attracted visitors from new markets, but the Tourism Minister Najib Balala warned that the euro zone crisis would curb growth this year. Arrivals rose 15.4 per cent to 1.26 million, just shy of a targeted ...

Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed on Saturday demanded the government fulfil its promise to set an early election date to ease the political impasse gripping the troubled islands. “The people of the country want an early election. They want to know the date and how it will be organised,” Nasheed told thousands of party supporters ...

  Waheed says open to possibility of early poll Invites former president’s party into cabinet Says will ensure safety of former president  DUBAI (Reuters): The Maldives’ new leader said a presidential election could be held before the scheduled date of October 2013 provided conditions were right for a free and peaceful poll, after his predecessor ...

The Central Bank yesterday explained some of the events that led to the erosion of reserves that led to the depreciation of the rupee and assured that pressure on the exchange rate would ease, apart from projecting a balance of payments surplus this year. Noting that the current developments in forex market were ‘temporary,’ the ...

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce with a view to build a dependable, pragmatic, and advantageous relationship and to establish friendly and cordial relations between Sri Lanka and Chile, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Chamber of Commerce, Services and Tourism Chile (CCC-Chile) recently. Signing of the MoU was facilitated by Dr. Mahinda Balasooriya, Ambassador ...

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa has decided to allocate Rs. 573 million for developing 573 Grama Niladhari Divisions in the Kegalle District, with Rs. 1 million for each village.  It will benefit 818,000 members of 211,000 families in 1,677 villages in the district comprising 11 secretarial divisions belonging to Dedigama, Galigamuwa, Aranayaka, Kegalle, Rabukkana, Ruwanwella, ....

HAS democracy failed in the Maldives? As chaos engulfs the second closest country to Sri Lanka, it is impossible not to wonder over where this change will lead. Will the country still continue as a democracy or will it fall into extremist hands? What are the lessons that Sri Lanka can learn from what has ...

MALE (Reuters: President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives, widely credited with bringing democracy to the hideaway resort islands, resigned on Tuesday after weeks of opposition protests erupted into a police mutiny and what an aide said amounted to a coup. Nasheed, the Maldives’ first democratically elected president , handed power over the Indian Ocean archipelago ...