Tag: Sri Lanka

രണ്ടു പ്രധാനമന്ത്രിമാര്‍ ബലാബലം പരീക്ഷിക്കുന്ന ശ്രീലങ്കയില്‍ തിരിച്ചടിയേറ്റു ടൂറിസം. പ്രധാനമന്ത്രി വിക്രമ സിംഗയോ രാജപക്സെയോ എന്ന് പാര്‍ലമെന്റ് ഉറപ്പു വരുത്താനിരിക്കെ വിവിധ വിദേശ രാജ്യങ്ങള്‍ സ്വന്തം പൗരന്‍മാര്‍ക്ക് നല്‍കിയ മുന്നറിയിപ്പുകളാണ് ശ്രീലങ്കന്‍ വിനോദ സഞ്ചാര മേഖലയ്ക്കു തിരിച്ചടിയായത്‌. യാത്ര ചെയ്യേണ്ട മികച്ച സ്ഥലമായി ലോണ്‍ലി പ്ലാനറ്റ് തെരഞ്ഞെടുത്ത് അധിക സമയമാകും മുന്‍പേ ശ്രീലങ്കയില്‍ പ്രതിസന്ധി ഉടലെടുത്തു. രാജ്യത്തിന്‍റെ വരുമാനത്തിന്‍റെ സിംഹഭാഗവും ടൂറിസത്തില്‍ നിന്നുള്ള വരുമാനമായിരുന്നു. വരുംവര്‍ഷം സഞ്ചാരികളുടെ എണ്ണത്തില്‍ പത്തു ശതമാനം വര്‍ധനവ്‌ ഉണ്ടാവുമെന്നായിരുന്നു ശ്രീലങ്കന്‍ വിനോദ സഞ്ചാര മേഖലയുടെ കണക്കു കൂട്ടല്‍. എന്നാല്‍ പുതിയ സംഭവ വികാസം കണക്കു കൂട്ടല്‍ തെറ്റിച്ചു. ബുക്കിംഗുകള്‍ വ്യാപകമായി കാന്‍സല്‍ ചെയ്യുകയാണെന്ന് ടൂറിസം മേഖല ചൂണ്ടിക്കാട്ടുന്നു. യൂറോപ്പില്‍ ആളുകള്‍ ടൂര്‍ ആസൂത്രണം ചെയ്യുന്ന വേളയിലാണ് ഈ തിരിച്ചടിയെന്ന് കൊളംബോയിലെ ഒരു ഹോട്ടല്‍ ഉടമ പറഞ്ഞു. അമേരിക്കയില്‍ നിന്നുള്ള ബുക്കിംഗുകളാണ് റദ്ദാക്കിയവയില്‍ ഏറെയും.  

US, UK and Canada governments advise their Citizens to abstain from travelling to Sri Lanka on the event of political instability and turmoil in the country. The advisories also warns those who are already in Sri Lanka to keep away from demonstrations and protests, to stay safe. The problems started when President Maithripala Sirisena on Friday replaced Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe with Rajapaksa, who ruled the country from 2005 to 2015 before being defeated by Sirisena;  but the former has called the move illegal and refuses to leave his office. Rajapaksa’s return to power has  triggered violence in the country and economists warn it ... Read more

Tourists thronging to the town of Habaraduwa, in Sri Lanka were welcomed by a signage which warns them not to wear improper swimwear to the beach. The signage, erected by the police, is all set t o be removed by the tourism department. Police has recently erected signs warning tourists against wearing “improper” swimwear to the beach — but the country’s tourism department is taking them down. The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority said that the signs, which depicted two women wearing bikinis, along with a large red ‘X’ over their photos, were placed at the popular resort destination of Habaraduwa ... Read more

Realising the potential of adventure tourism, Sri Lanka has launched a programme to assist the tourism industry to standardize and develop adventure tourism and training in the country. Sri Lanka Tourism Development and Christian Affairs Minister John Amaratunga launched “The Adventure Tourism Curricula,” under the initiative, at a ceremony held on 29th August 2018 at the Temple Trees. Sujith Sanjaya Perera, member of Parliament, Officers of Policy Development Office (PDO),Officers of the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism & Hotel Management (SLITHM) and Industry stakeholders participated in the event. The Ministry of National Policies and Economic Affairs and the Policy Development Office (PDO) ... Read more

Photo for representative purpose only As part of enhancing security of the foreign tourists, Srilankan Police is planning to deploy 25 new tourist police posts in strategic places, covering all main tourist destinations across the country, said Pujith Jayasundara,  Sri Lanka’s Inspector General of Police(IGP), on Monday, 13th August 2018 . While talking to the Chairman and senior officials of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), Jayasundara said, tourism is one of the prioritized sector for security matter. ‘Tourist Police Division’ will have new uniform, to distinguish from the other law and order sections and to build more cordial ... Read more

Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) and Airbnb announced a strategic partnership to launch Airbnb Experiences in Sri Lanka and drive local, authentic and sustainable tourism across the country. Through this Asia-first partnership, Airbnb and SLTDA will work together to onboard local experience hosts onto the Airbnb platform and help local people from across Sri Lanka share their passions and interests with travelers from around the world. Travelers can now choose from more than 40 Airbnb Experiences in Sri Lanka designed and led by local experts. “We’re delighted to sign this partnership with the Sri Lankan Tourism Ministry – the ... Read more

Major tourist friendly nations, including India will soon visit Sri Lanka visa-free. Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has appointed a task force to study the possibility of granting visa-free entry to visitors from tourist friendly nations in order to boost arrivals. “Some of the countries under consideration are India, China along with some other European and West Asian nations,” said Tourism Minister John Amaratunga. The new move is aimed at encouraging more people to visit Sri Lanka and avoid “chaos” at the immigration, the minister added. Once the task force give the recommendations, the visa-free entry will be implemented in ... Read more

Colombo, Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said his government is considering easing the air traffic system including visas for tourists to enhance the island’s tourism industry. Speaking at the Hotel Show Colombo 2018 in the capital of Colombo on 21st July, Wickremesinghe said that easing visa regulations would be a brave step for the swiftly developing tourism industry in the country. He reiterated the importance of increasing the number of tourists visiting the country, as tourism becoming one of the major contributors of revenue for the island country. Tourism will be the future of Sri Lanka, in ... Read more

Representative picture only With an aim to promote religious tourism, IRCTC is all set to launch a special tourist train linking key site in Ramayana. The train, called Sri Ramayana Express, will start operations from November 14. The tour by train will link all the important places that linked to the epic ‘Ramayana”. It will set off from Delhi through Ayodhya, the birth place of Lord Rama as per the epic, to Colombo, Sri Lanka were he fought Ravana to salvage Sita Devi. The train will have 800 seats and the total cost for the tours is expected to be ... Read more

Sri Lanka has recorded a growth of 15.3 per cent in tourist arrivals during the first half of 2018 compared to the same period last year. According to the statistics from the Tourism Ministry, 1,164,647 tourists arrived in Sri Lanka between January and June. 1,010,444 tourists visited the country during the same period previous year. In June, 146,828 tourists arrived in the island country, registering 19 per cent increase from the arrivals recorded in June 2017. India remains the largest market for Sri Lanka in June, followed by China and Britain. Visitors from India grew 18.4 per cent to 32,971, and arrivals from ... Read more

Are you among those who would rather catch the flu than watch a game of football? No need to go to such drastic measures come 14 June when the games kick off – Agoda has some suggestions on where to escape the football madness. You’re welcome! Koror Island, Republic of Palau Head to the South Pacific island of Palau where abundant marine life, volcanoes and epic waterfalls are the main attractions. Palau also wins bonus points for not having national football team. Check out the Palau Royal Resort for beach views and vibes. Baler, Philippines You’ll likely meet more surfing ... Read more

Sri Lanka is trying to woo more Chinese tourists to the island nation. As part of its marketing efforts, the Minister of Tourism Development John Amaratunga has held talks with Chinese tourism and airline officials to encourage more visitors to Sri Lanka from China. The talks were held during a visit to promote the island at the Shanghai World Travel Fair held at Shanghai Exhibition Centre in China. The team has conducted a series of promotional events and meetings across major cities in China, including Shanghai, Nanjing and Chengdu, during the past week. The Sri Lankan tourism minister has held talks with Xu Weiwan, ... Read more

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is offering 5 nights/6 days ‘Shri Ramayana Yatra-Sri Lanka Ex Delhi’ tour package at a starting price of Rs 47,600. The tour dates of the package are June 12, August 25, September 18, October 2, November 20 and December 15, 2018. According to the official website of IRCTC Tourism, the destinations covered under this package are Negombo, Kandy, Nuwara Ellya and Colombo. The trip provided by SriLankan airlines, will start from Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. The flight will leave at 6:35 pm from Delhi and will reach Colombo at 10:10 pm. On ... Read more

SriLankan Airlines  said its traffic went up 48 per cent from Delhi and 24 per cent from Mumbai “mainly daily due to the capacity additions effected from these stations,” said Chinthaka Weerasinghe, Manager – North & Eastern India, SriLankan Airlines. The airline has introduced two daily flights from Delhi and Mumbai stations to Colombo last year. “It is genuine leisure traffic which is largely point to point filling up our aircraft from North and West. The load factors are in the range of 85 to 90 per cent from these regions,” he said. Overall, India is the top source market for tourism ... Read more

Sri Lanka is planning to bring in more tourists fom Middle East. The island nation received a total of 107,635 tourists from the Middle East region in 2017, up 6.5 per cent compared to 2016. As part of efforts to boost visitor numbers from the GCC, the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau has unveiled its diverse product offerings and experience spread across the small island. “Sri Lanka has much to offer visitors from the region with our distinctive, adventure-packed, eco-friendly, family-focused experiences and offerings, as well as our rich nature, heritage and culture, year-round schedule of festivals and special events, numerous parks ... Read more