Cabraal says that reserves were built to weather demanding situation, calls on the non-banking sector to seek funds from capital markets and wants it to target 70% of GDP by 2016 By Uditha Jayasinghe Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal yesterday defended declining reserves, insisting that they were built up to be used in times ...

Former Sri Lanka Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) President Vasantha Leelananda in this interview with the Daily FT shares some key insights on the future of tourism industry in post-war Sri Lanka Q: Do you believe that the tourism industry in Sri Lanka is on the correct path in terms of sustainability and growth? A: Yes. ...

Corporate athletism programme to be launched to the private sector Each year globally the top four business professionals in a country who practice the values of Rotary, gets selected for a Group study exchange programmes(GSE) to different parts of the world by Rotary International. Some of the countries that Sri Lanka have partnered are Brazil, ...

Several top hotels including Cinnamon Grand and Cinnamon Lakeside have won several awards at the World Spice Food Festival’s Spice Competition. The festival kicked off on 28 October and will conclude today. The grand awards ceremony was held last night at the Water’s Edge with Sri Lanka

of innovation and diversification in marketing tourism. Sri Lanka Tourism Chairman Dr. Nalaka Godahewa ad...

Sri Lanka‘s tourist arrivals will reach unprecedented growth this year. The number of visitors is expected to reach the 800,000 mark. According to Sri Lanka Tourism the number of arrivals rose 27.2 percent in September from a year earlier and continued to rise every month on a year-on-year basis

Sri Lanka‘s tourist arrivals will reach unprecedented growth this year. The number of visitors is expected to reach the 800,000 mark.   According to Sri Lanka Tourism the number of arrivals rose 27.2 percent in September from a year earlier and continued to rise every month

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

Viet Nam President promises full support, encourages investment in tourism, textile, agriculture, says consistent policies key to FDI By Uditha Jayasinghe Sealing Sri Lankan and Viet Nam ties, the Presidents of the two countries yesterday witnessed the signing of eight  agreements, including one on oil and gas exploration. Speaking at the Sri Lanka-Viet Nam Business ...

By Devin Jayasundera The Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) in celebrating its 125th anniversary announced the launch of the SLMA 2012 International Conference and Exhibitions to professionals in the medical field and the media on 4 October. The theme of this year’s conference will be ‘Global Forum for Sri Lankan Doctors’. The SLMA, which is ...

The Department of Immigration and Emigration yesterday launched the trial version of the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme which will come into force from 1 January 2012. The ETA will grant prior approval for visa via online for the foreign nationals who visit Sri Lanka and those who travel via Sri Lanka for short-term requirements. ...

The Hotel Sector has for the first time issued a commemorative stamp on behalf of World tourism Day.The launch of the commemorative stamp by Cinnamon Grand Hotel Group was held on the sidelines of World Tourism Day under the patronage of Minister Basil Rajapaksa at the Hotel premises. Post Master General M.K.B. Dissanayake presented the ...

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa met high level business delegations led by the French Ambassador and the British High Commissioner in Sri Lanka respectively with a view to promoting investments from France and the United Kingdom. Addressing the business community that included some of the leading enterprises in the fields of insurance, garments, tourism and ...

Last week I received an invite for an ‘Inventors Day Celebration’ in one of the leading schools in the country and the master in charge shared a thought that I felt was a cutting edge idea. Apparently, every one of us is an inventor in some part of our daily life. The issue is that ...

Despite crises in most world markets, the Government yesterday remained upbeat on prospects for Sri Lanka’s exports which have grown by 35% so far to reach $ 5 billion giving optimism that end 2011 figure would top $ 10 billion. “On the back of 21% growth in exports in 2010, current year’s exports have grown ...

By Cheranka Mendis Sri Lanka’s wildlife parks bring in collective revenue of approximate Rs.300 million a year which is hoped to increase within the next few years riding on the increasing tourist arrivals to the country. Sri Lanka’s tourism industry which showcased a steady climb this year, registering a 36% growth within the first seven ...

By Cheranka Mendis In keeping with the monthly promotion activities in line with ‘Visit Sri Lanka 2011’ year, a host of lectures and awareness programmes on wildlife have been lined up for September. Identified as the month for nature and wildlife, Sri Lanka Tourism along with Sri Lanka

The ‘Lanka Challenge 2011’ trishaw race started off in grand style on Saturday 20 August 2011 at 8:30 a.m. from the premises of Tangerine Tree Hotel, Minuwangoda. The competitors kicked off to a solid start, with the official flag-off given by the Acting Director General of Sri Lanka

Being a brand with a vision to be positioned as the ultimate hospitality trademark in Sri Lanka, Citrus Leisure PLC has, within a very short period of time, become a powerhouse in the leisure industry with still more ambitious plans to build and manage a chain of distinctive resorts – a chain benchmarked against the ...

The attendees present at the Sri Lanka National Energy Efficiency Awards 2011 experienced history in the making as they witnessed Heritance Hotels and Resorts being crowned the most energy efficient hotel chain in Sri Lanka. Heritance Hotels made a clean sweep of the Large Scale Hotel Sector category, a feat that has never been achieved ...

A 101 hectare Marine National Park has been opened by the government in the Southern coastal town of Hikkaduwa. The Park that has been initiated by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau under the guidance of the Economic Development Ministry, is open for local and foreign visitors. The Bureau

A special programme has been formulated to attract foreign tourists in parallel to the 2600th Sambuddhatva Jayanthiya. Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena made this reference addressing a media briefing in Colombo. The Minister said Sri Lanka Tourism expects many religious tourists to Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Tourism has tied up with Singapore Airlines to get its support to promote Sri Lanka in a number of Asian countries and also in Australia.   The one-year MOU took effect from April this year. It will see both parties jointly funding tourism promotion activities

  The Tourism Promotion Bureau is to introduce a new programme to promote the Sinhala and Tamil New Year festival globally. Under this programme every tourist who arrives to the island during the month of April is being given the opportunity to take part in New Year festivals. The Sri Lanka

Foreign exchange earnings coming from tourism increased to an unprecedented level of Rs. 56.24 billion, thus registering an increase of 49.9 % as compared to Rs. 37.51 billion recorded in the previous year, stated the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority. .

This reporter, on a bus ride from from Kollupitiya, en route to an assignment at the World Trade Centre (WTC) on Monday, saw soldiers, stationed on the seaside of Galle Road, with their guns pointing towards the roads and buildings, including at some hotels that way. I don’t know whether a similar scene was enacted ...

By Srilal Miththapala Just over a year ago, I penned an article entitled “Sri Lanka Tourism — Quo Vadis” where I raised the issues and challenges Sri Lanka was facing in developing its tourism industry. Of course, that was during the latter stages of the war, and now after the ending of the war, there ...

M.R.’s goal of 2.5 mn. tourists by 2016 The country’s   major hotel operators have planned to build hotel rooms meeting only 6 percent of President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s target of getting 2. 5 million tourists by 2016. Hiran Cooray, Chairman Jetwing Group, one of the country’s leading hotel investors, in response to a question, told participants ...

By Paneetha Ameresekere – Business Editor The stock market has been trying to tap Singapore for investments by organizing investment seminars there is in the past, similarly, it may also be worthwhile for Sri Lanka Tourism  (S.L.T.) to try to break in to this cash rich market

Sri Lanka's tourist arrivals continued its upward trend in May with 35,213 foreign visitors in the usually off-season month, officials from Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) said on Sunday. Dileep Mudadeniya, Managing Director of SLTPB told reporters that for the first five months of 2010