LOLC Leisure buys popular Dickwella Resort for Rs. 1 b LOLC Leisure yesterday announced the strategic acquisition of Dickwella Resort in the deep south of Sri Lanka, thereby expanding its formidable presence in the country’s hospitality industry. Located at the southern-most tip of Sri Lanka, Dickwella Resort is universally acknowledged as having the most stunning ...

A survey conducted last week on the health of the Sri Lankan economy revealed that almost 64% said that the Government had done its task but only 43% had said that there had been growth in the economy. Whilst some can say that this data is strange, a similar set of information was shared at ...

President Eisenhower raised the alarm in 1961; its relevance today‘But most shall he sing of Lanka In the brave new days to come, When the races all have blended And the voice of strife is dumb, When we leap to a single bugle, March to a single drum.’ From ‘The Call of Lanka’, by the ...

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, ...

AT times, the inevitable comes as a surprise. The death of a British tourist over the weekend and the severe allegations levelled at a local politician at first glance sounds like the plot for a bad movie, but the gravity of it for the tourism industry of Sri Lanka cannot be denied. Safety for tourists ...

Range of sectors discussed for investments during meeting between Qatar Premier and Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa Range of sectors discussed for investments during meeting between Qatar Premier and Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa (strap) Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs in Qatar   together with Yousf K...

 8° on the Lake to set sail  on 20 December By Cassandra Mascarenhas Amidst the rapid development and beautification that Colombo is currently undergoing, Colombo’s five-star city hotel Cinnamon Lakeside is preparing itself to make a new unique addition to their line-up of offerings in time for the festive season while at the same time, ...

Last week my phone beeped and the text message read ‘The Chairperson of the Security and Exchange Commission Indrani Sugathadasa had resigned citing reasons of values and principles for her resignation’. My mind went back to the time when this lady when she was the Board Director at EDB. Whenever tough decisions had be taken ...

IN 2010, the boost for Sri Lanka tourism was being named the top travel destination by the New York Times. As the dawn of 2012 emerges the plus point is being among the top six of National Geographic’s best global destinations. Upbeat on tourism, the Government is considering a target of 950,000 arrivals for 2012 ...

Twenty-three students who received training under the NDB Jeevana Livelihood Development Scheme recently graduated in Colombo. The students passed out following a comprehensive training course in Hotel Operations, conducted in association with the International Hotel School of Mt. Lavinia Hotel. This is the second batch from the east coast to have completed and graduated in ...

The best way to make the benefits of ICT to reach all the people, especially the disadvantaged as envisaged by the President is to develop local e-content talent, said President’s Secretary Lalith Weeratunga. The Presidential Secretary said so while participating as the Guest of Honour at the e-Swabhimani Awards 2011 held in Colombo recently. Speaking ...

The defeat of the LTTE in May 2009 has wrought a perceptible change in Sri Lanka’s economic climate, recognised by international financial institutions, foreign media and economic analysts, says in an article on Bangkok Post published on November 28. “Today they see Sri Lanka as one of Asia’s fast-growing nations with huge potential”, the report ...

Veteran golfers from all parts of India will converge on Sri Lanka’s celebrated Victoria Golf Course in Digana, Kandy, to work off the finals of the Touché Golf League (TGL) on Saturday, 4 December. SriLankan Airlines joins this prestigious event and will fly in the winning teams from India, which includes top celebrities as Kapil ...

By Cheranka Mendis  World Travel Centre yesterday introduced the unique ‘Seat-in-Coach tours’ or ‘Scheduled Coach Tours,’ a series of regular functioning scheduled tours which will facilitate greater connectivity to travellers while promoting Sri Lanka’s key attractions. With an initial investment of Rs. 5 million exclusive of the coaches, World Travel Centre is ...

Famed star class hotel located on the Golden Mile of Beruwela, Eden Resort and Spa (LOLC Leisure Group Hotel), made history when it created the Signature Cocktail for Sri Lanka Tourism for the Year 2012 at a ceremony held in Mount Lavinia Hotel earlier this month. This event was held during the launch of the ...

Offering epic safari adventures, Chaaya Wild transcends expectations and enthrals nature enthusiastsBy Marianne David If there’s one message that Yala reinforces, it’s the fact Sri Lanka is so abundantly blessed – a miracle in many ways. Despite its rising position as a hotspot for leopards being temporarily halted in its tracks during the latter stages ...

At a recently concluded event in Tangalle, the third group of 31 students were enrolled under the NDB Jeevana Livelihood Development Scheme, in Hotel Operations, in association with the International Hotel School of Mount Lavinia Hotel.   The initiation of the Jeevana Program in Tangalle is in response to the high demand for trained staff ...

Having being involved actively in the last seven years of Sri Lanka’s economic development agenda, the last two years in particular have been dramatic in nature. Private sector thinking has now come into the public sector which is interesting but needs to be careful managed so that we do not lose the democratic spirit of ...

By Chamitha Kuruppu The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna claims spending Rs. 265 billion on an 11-day extravaganza is intolerable for an economically ailing country like Sri Lanka. Addressing a media briefing the JVP warned that the aftermath of hosting the 2018 Commonwealth Games would not be rosy as the Rajapaksa administration predicts According to JVP Propaganda ...

The 17th SAARC summit ended on Friday with the adoption of a 20-point ‘Addu Declaration’ to forge effective cooperation among the member states in a host of areas including economy, connectivity, climate change and food security. The Addu Declaration was adopted at the concluding session in presence of all heads of government and states of ...

The senior management structure at Cinnamon Grand is seeing significant transformation beginning November, with the country’s award winning city five star hotel upping its benchmarks and Key Performance Indicators in anticipation of the impending tourism boom.  “The changes are strategic and founded on our end goals and targets for the short, medium and longer terms,” ...

By Sanath Weerasuriya in London The curtain rises at the World Travel Mart in London yesterday with a new hope for Sri Lanka Tourism to go beyond its target of 800,000 tourist arrivals to the country by the end of this year. The business for the Sri Lanka Tourism at the modern architecturally designed Sri ...

Expolanka Holdings PLC said yesterday it has sustained its consolidated NPAT for the first half of FY 2011/12 at Rs. 668 m, with a consolidated NPBT at Rs. 862 m. These results have been achieved against the backdrop of the many challenges faced by the Group in the international trading sector with its global economic ...

Assistant Barman at the Cinnamon Lodge, Habarana Harsha Dilhan Fernando has won second place in the all-island Signature cocktail for Sri Lanka Tourism competition, conducted under the auspices of the Sri Lanka Tourist Board. The event was held at the Galle Face Hotel. He had already been placed first place in the Cultural Triangle regional ...

Chaaya Wild Yala, officially opened its doors on the 1st of November 2011, the resort which underwent a complete refurbishment and re-branding effort imprints its signature foot in the deep South, bordering Sri Lanka’s most famed National Park. The resort’s offerings stem from responsible tourism practices aimed at conserving and being one with its precious ...

Marque fund manager and investor Asanga Seneviratne structures deal; Galadari Brothers part sell stake as part of settlement of cases in UAEThe buying of a 16% stake in Galadari Hotel (Lanka) Plc by the Dubai Government for Rs. 1.18 billion yesterday is expected to throw open the city five star as an attractive investment in ...

Programme by world famous celebrity chef for industry personnelAs an additional event in the World Spice Food Festival, this year Sri Lanka Tourism together with the Ceylon Hotel School Graduates Association (CHSGA) and the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (SLITHM) is bringing down an internationally renowned celebrity chef to introduce and demonstrate ...

Following the success of the World Spice Food Festival since 2005, Sri Lanka Tourism is once again staging the World Spice Food Festival 2011 with the aim of showcasing culinary expertise from around the world with added Sri Lankan flavour. The festival will be held from 28 October to 9 November in Colombo. This year’s ...

SriLankan Airlines and Air Canada yesterday announced a codeshare agreement that will make flying between Sri Lanka and Canada more convenient. “This code share between the two national carriers opens up several key points in Canada in addition to the main cities of Toronto and Montreal and will be a tremendous boost to tourism between ...

The last week was an eventful week indeed. We barely recovered from the news of the death of the maverick inventor Steve Jobs. Although I am a loyal Microsoft right-brain person, I admired the ‘left-brain innovative spirit’ of Apple and the ingenuity of the man. He had not gone to university and had what some ...