SriLankan Airlines celebrates 33rd anniversary

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SriLankan Airlines Turns 33...

The national carrier of Sri Lanka, SriLankan Airlines celebrates its 33rd anniversary this month. This milestone will be marked with religious ceremonies for the staff commencing from the first week of September.

The life journey of the airline has been fascinating, checked with victories and surviving turmoil during the country’s three decade long civil war which claimed half of its fleet during the airport attack in 2001, the global recession and stifling competition in what is a mature, yet dynamic industry.

SriLankan took flight on September 1, 1979 as Air Lanka, its former name, with a humble fleet of two leased Boeing 707-300B jetliners. Air Lanka’s preliminary route network spanned destinations such as, Frankfurt; London; Paris; Bangkok; Singapore; Kuala Lumpur; Bahrain; Dubai; Male; Mumbai and Chennai. In 1994 Air Lanka celebrated its 15th anniversary by being the first carrier in Asia to introduce Airbus A340 aircraft to its fleet. Three brand new A340s would soon have the airline operating long-haul services previously not possible to several of its destinations. Four years later, a ten year deal forged with Dubai-based Emirates would have Air Lanka soaring to new heights, under its new moniker – SriLankan Airlines.

Today, SriLankan’s fleet has expanded to 21 Airbus A320, A330 and A340 aircraft, with some being brand new, delivered just this year and its network extends to 58 destinations in 33 countries in Europe; North America; Canada; Australia; Far East; Middle East and the Indian Sub-Continent.

The airline has cemented a firm reputation worldwide for its service, comfort, safety and reliability, notching many enviable industry awards along the way. These awards include the, World’s Friendliest Cabin Staff by Skytrax; Best Airline in South Asia from Travel Trade Gazette; World’s Most Reliable Operator of Airbus A330s and A340s by Airbus Industrie and the Etihad Global Excellence Award for Best Regional Caterer.

In 2011, the airline carried over three million passengers, and the numbers indicate a growth for 2012, which is in line with the thriving tourism industry. The first half of this year saw a 27 percent growth in the number of passengers that travelled on SriLankan, over last year’s first half.

The airline is also in a phase of undertaking massive product enhancements starting with its fleet, with the acquisition of brand new A320s and the refurbishment of existing A330 and A340 aircraft, incorporating plush leather interior, flat bed seats on Business Class and state-of-the-art IMS Rave entertainment systems.

In line with modern trends in global air travel, SriLankan now offers its Business Class passengers a quick check-in facility with the ‘Silk Route’ service at the Bandaranaike International Airport.

SriLankan is also looking at advancing in other areas of aviation technology. In the last month, the airline became the first in Asia to replace bulky paper manuals used by pilots in the cockpit, with iPad Electronic Flight Bags (EFB). 

The year brought on acclaim to the training arm of SriLankan, the International Aviation Academy (IAA), when it was recognised by the International Air Travel Association (IATA) as one of its ‘Top Ten’ Authorized Training Centres in South Asia. In August 2012, IAA opened its first overseas branch in Maldives.

In April 2012, SriLankan Engineering fortified its reputation as a reliable service provider in aircraft maintenance in the region, when it completed the 50th “C” Check for IndiGo– India’s largest low-fare carrier.

SriLankan Catering (SLC), a fully owned subsidiary of the airline, also expanded its services in the past 12 months. Semondu, its fine-dining restaurant, was opened in the historic Dutch Complex in December 2011.

In addition to these developments, the external environment looks promising for SriLankan, with the booming Indian and Far Eastern leisure traveller markets and Sri Lanka’s unique positioning in the world map as a hub in Asia, the airline will have some great opportunities to expand in the near future.

Sri Lanka's government planning tourism campaign in Russia, India and China

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Sri Lanka tourism campaign...

Sri Lanka's government is now looking specifically at promoting Sri Lanka Tourism in a joint effort with related industries in India, Russia and China. Discussions commenced two weeks back with Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa meeting with state institutions and the private sector as part of a preliminary round to plan the promotional campaign in these identified emerging markets.

Funding for this campaign is set to also be provided from investors of these countries in Sri Lanka, the minister is learnt to have said.
The long-awaited joint promotional campaign would involve the industries of tourism, tea, gem and jewellery, and the Export Development Board (EDB).

Road shows, trade fairs, food festivals and separate gem and jewellery exhibitions are being planned to be held simultaneously for a 3-day period in each of the five cities of each country. In this regard, the Sri Lankan missions in these respective countries would be linked up to ascertain the budget required and the possibility of conducting these promotional campaigns in several cities.
The minister intends on kick-starting the campaign by November this year in Huanzhou to coincide with the annual China International Travel Mart (CITM).

Japan was not selected for this campaign since tourism promotions were conducted under a Japanese grant for about two years now.
Further, promotions would be targeted to these specific countries in a bid to attract more visitors from these destinations compared to the European countries that were faced with an economic downturn.

The tourism industry has been without an adequate promotional drive to attract sufficient tourists to the country although the figures have been climbing since the war ended in 2009. So far, the industry has been engaged in trade fairs and other similar annual programmes without any targeted campaigns.

Ninth Sri Lanka Festival in Tokyo,Japan on 8th and 9th of September, 2012

Sri-Lanka-Festival-in-Tokyo,Japan-2012

The theme of the Festival is “Miracle Island: Sri Lanka – Wonder of Asia”.

The Embassy of Sri Lanka Japan announced that the Ninth Sri Lanka Festival will be held on 8th and 9th of September, 2012 in Tokyo.

This year, the theme of the Festival is “Miracle Island: Sri Lanka – Wonder of Asia”. The primary objectives of the Sri Lanka Festival are to promote and project Sri Lanka, in all culture, trade, commercial and particularly in tourism aspects, and to enhance and augment the image of the country, among others.the Embassy said in an announcement.

The Embassy says the Sri Lanka Festival attracts well over 120,000 visitors including Japanese, Sri Lankans and other nationalities, and has been a great success over the past eight years.

The two-day Sri Lanka Festival would be filled with a number of activities and cultural shows including that of “Channa – Upuli” dance performance and Sri Lankan songs sung by “Bathiya & Santhush Group”, among others.

Sri Lanka this year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The Embassy of Sri Lanka will host the high profile Sri Lanka Festival.The Sri Lanka Festival would portray and showcase the Sri Lankan cultural activities, products and services of Sri Lanka, places and destinations of interest for tourists in Sri Lanka and newly emerged economic and commercial opportunities and vistas as well as the future potential and promise of the country.

Sri Lanka Ratmalana airport opens for international flights

Ratmalana-Airport

We declared that it is available for commercial jet operations from 10th August 

The Ratmalana domestic airport has been declared open for small international commercial flights, the Civil Aviation Authority said.

Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority H.M.C Nimalsiri said that a circular has been sent to airmen informing them that international commercial jets can now land at the Ratmalana airport.

“We declared that it is available for commercial jet operations from 10th August 2012. We have sent a circular to airmen and people have seen it all over the world. We have started receiving inquiries so from two months from now we expect the airport to function regularly,” he said.

Earlier the Ratmalana airport, which was operated by the air force, was open only for military and domestic flights.

However Nimalsiri said that the facilities at the airport have been upgraded and an immigration and emigration counter has also been opened to cater to international commercial jets and passengers.

Sri Lanka introduces new land policy to promote tourism

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Lease out Sri Lanka state lands for hotel projects for foreign investors under 99 years lease agreement...

Sri Lanka has introduced new land policy to attract foreign investment for tourismDeputy minister for Economic Development Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said, the Cabinet has given nod to lease out state lands for hotel projects for foreign investors under 99 years lease agreement.
"The lands will be leased out on the prices valued by Government Chief Valuer" Lakshman Yapa Abeygwardena said.Sri Lanka's robust post-war tourism sector continued to grow, posting a 7.8 percent rise in July from a year earlier, according to government data.During the first seven months of the year, Sri Lanka's tourism grew 16.7 percent in comparison to 2011 with UK tourists marking the second highest arrival rate behind India.Meanwhile, revenue from tourism has increased 24.3 percent to 459.9 million U.S. dollars this year, according to the Central Bank.With the demand, seven star class hotels including some eco- friendly branded have been opened this year and over 300 rooms were added to the industry. "This was over 27 million U.S. dollar investment on country's tourism," said minister Abeygwardena.Sri Lanka has set ambitious targets of one million arrivals for 2012 with its rising to 2.5 million by 2016. Two billion U.S. dollars in earnings are also expected from the industry this year.

Hello! Magazine names Sri Lanka as an exciting destination to visit 2012

Hello !  Magazine

HELLO! Online brings you five of the most exotic, exciting destinations to visit in 2012

Most exotic exciting destinations in the world 2012(Hello! Magazine)

• Sri Lanka 

• Thailand

• Croatia 

• The Maldives 

• Sardinia 

The award-winning UK-based Hello! Magazine has named Sri Lanka as one of the five most exotic, exciting destinations to visit in 2012.

Sri Lanka Tea

Breath-taking scenery of Sri Lanka’s tea plantations is an alluring destination, the magazine says in its online issue.

Hello! recommends to "delve no deeper than the spiritual island of Sri Lanka" for an "eclectic mix of exotic wildlife, culture and scenery".

Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage Sri Lanka

Unawatuna Beach Sun Set Sri Lanka

It recommends the traveller not to miss the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage that is home to over sixty elephants, or the ancient ruins of Polonnaruwa, boasting over thirty shrines and beautifully preserved buildings.

"Following a trip to Colombo’s treasure trove markets, you can unwind on the heavenly stretch of Unawatuna Beach. Palm trees tower over the silk-like sand and the aqua sea breaks rhythmically as you relax with a cocktail or traditional Sri Lankan tea from the hillside plantations," it says.

What to do & Places to Visit in Sri Lanka

"Sri Lanka 
For an eclectic mix of exotic wildlife, culture and scenery - delve no deeper than the spiritual island of Sri Lanka. Don't miss the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage that is home to over sixty elephants, or the ancient ruins of Polonnaruwa, boasting over thirty shrines and beautifully preserved buildings. Following a trip to Colombo's treasure trove markets, you can unwind on the heavenly stretch of Unawatuna Beach. Palm trees tower over the silk-like sand and the aqua sea breaks rhythmically as you relax with a cocktail or traditional Sri Lankan tea from the hillside plantations."