The latest data coming out predicts Sri Lanka’s economy to be 59 billion dollars with overall external trade recording a strong 51.6% of GDP as against the 44.4% the year before, which indicates the expansion of the economy. This data is reflective of Sri Lanka’s jump of 17 places to number 52 in the Global ...

AS expected, Sri Lanka’s tourism industry made a booming start to the New Year with the news that South Africa’s Sun City is planning to invest a hefty US$ 800 million in a massive project in Katana. This brings the total investment from large-scale foreign hotel projects to nearly US$ 2 billion, with Sheraton, Shangri-la, ...

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 ...

Attacked woman reportedly denies rape; blames on being in wrong place at wrong time; Family to be flown in at Sri Lanka Tourism expense for care By Cheranka Mendis The Government yesterday reiterated those responsible for the killing of British tourist and causing injury to his Russian partner will be severely dealt with as per ...

Xinhua: Sri Lankan Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella Tuesday met with Ju Mengjun, Director of the Xinhua News Agency Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau on Tuesday, both sides expressed the hope to further enhance bilateral cooperation in all areas. During the meeting, Ju said Xinhua is glad to seek closer relations with Sri Lankan media and relevant departments ...

It is the season for giving, which we all know is a reason to look beyond ourselves and find some worthy cause to take up for Christmas. Everyone is familiar with the warmth connected with giving and the quiet pleasure in ensuring that someone else has a happy time as well. It can be something ...

New CEO Kapila Chandrasena upbeat on prospects for national carrier and Sri Lanka as a tourist destination post-warWhen the news of the impending change at the top in the national carrier broke, the Daily FT headlined the lead story on 6 May 2011 as ‘Turb-UL-ence,’ with a pun. But for the man in the hot ...

International Consultants Chairman Ranjiv Goonawardena had kindly invited the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau to participate by showcasing the great opportunity that Sri Lanka has to offer, at the Islamic Real Estate Finance (IREF) Summit and Gala Dinner Awards Ceremony of which it was a sponsor. International Consultants sponsored for the second year the ninth ...

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 ...

By Ian The President in his speech at the opening of the Southern Expressway said that this could be the beginning of building a modern society. He also mentioned that had there been such an expressway linking the north with the south the extremists would not have succeeded in capitalising on the mistrust among communities. ...

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 ...

This is the week of Budget bashing for some and for others it is the week for inventing cute ways to meet the bashes. As is usual for most, it is looking at this all in the ‘what’s in it for me?’ mode. For some, it is also about ‘who said what’ and not ‘what’s ...

By Cheranka Mendis The tourism industry yesterday welcomed the reduction in the online visa processing fee from the initial US$ 50 flat rate for every country, giving into the concerns and objections of industry stakeholders. The scheme, scheduled to be in effect from January 2012, will now charge US$ 10 from travellers from South Asian ...

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 ...

DNH Financial shares some key insights to the upcoming earnings season and how to manage investments in the Colombo stock marketFIn the absence of any significant news, the Sri Lanka bourse continued to trade on a lacklustre note with the ASPI and MPI falling by 2.2% and 1.7%WoW to close the week at 6,550 and ...

Justice and fair-play is paramount Justice and fair-play are of paramount importance to all members of the world family consisting of 193 nations expecting justice and fair-play equally. It is the principle on which the United Nations was established in place of the less-effective League of Nations, in order to settle differences among nations based ...

AS Sri Lanka celebrated World Tourism Day yesterday, it seems an opportune time to discuss the positives as well as the challenges facing Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan Government on Tuesday unveiled ambitious plans to provide employment in the tourism industry to one in seven people on the back of a 50 per cent earnings ...

Industry expects modest growth but no boom expectationsby Cheranka Mendis The tourism industry is looking at a 10-15% increase during the coming winter season although there will be no sell-out as earlier expected, according to industry experts. The season, which usually amounts to the highest number of arrivals each year, was initially expected to bring ...

New offerings Chaaya Tranz Hikkaduwa and Chaaya Wild Yala to be launched on 1 NovemberBy Marianne David The John Keells Hotels Group’s latest offerings – Chaaya Tranz Hikkaduwa and Chaaya Wild Yala – are gearing up to take the industry by storm, as the group continues with heavy investments, throwing its weight behind Sri Lanka’s ...

  By Sachin David The Amateur Rowing Association of Sri Lanka (ARASL) yesterday announced that the 27th National Rowing Championships will be held from September 15 to 17 on the waters of the Bolgoda Lake.  ARASL President Rohan Fernando (right) receives the replica of sponsorship cheque from Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel General Manager Corporate Operations ...

The Sri Lanka Private Sector Assessment of the Report to the United Nations Secretary General by the Panel of Experts on accountability in Sri Lanka was released on Thursday. The private sector critique is a compilation of views raised by a private sector group in Sri Lanka who are concerned about the content of the ...

By Marianne David Warm, welcoming and exuding good cheer, the Cinnamon Lakeside’s newest General Manager Denis Gruhier perfectly fits into the best qualities the hospitable hotel is well-known for and his affirmation of Sri Lanka’s optimistic post-war outlook for tourism in particular and the country in general is welcoming news indeed. Having joined the Lakeside ...

Combined publicity programme The Government’s plan to formulate a combined publicity programme to build a unified brand for Sri Lanka tourism is well timed and one of the brilliant steps taken in the right direction. It is noted that the project is to be named Tourism Promotion Programme (TPP). Currently Sri Lanka is at the ...

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Sri Lanka expanded 7.90 percent in the first quarter of 2011 over the same quarter, previous year. Historically, from 2003 until 2011, Sri Lanka's average quarterly GDP Growth was 6.26 percent reaching an historical high of 8.60 percent in December of 2010 and a record low of 1.50 percent in March of 2009. Sri Lanka is a developing economy off the southern coas...

Sri Lanka Gross Domestic Product is worth 50 billion dollars or 0.08% of the world economy, according to the World Bank. Historically, from 1960 until 2010, Sri Lanka's average Gross Domestic Product was 10.46 billion dollars reaching an historical high of 49.55 billion dollars in December of 2010 and a record low of 1.42 billion dollars in December of 1960. Sri Lanka is a developing economy off ...