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| Sunday, 8 May 2005 |
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Embarkation and tourist levy net Rs. 740 m in 2004 Collections from the embarkation levy and the one percent levy on the turnover of tourist establishments in 2004 amounted to Rs 439 million and Rs. 301 million according to the 2004 Annual Report of the Central Bank. One-third of the embarkation levy and the one percent levy on the turnover of tourist establishments are being channelled to the Sri Lanka Tourist Board (SLTB) for promotional activities and human resources development. The SLTB along with the Ministry of Tourism unveiled a special promotional campaign known as " Bounce Back Sri Lanka" to rebuild the country's image as a popular tourist destination. The country's tourism industry recorded the highest ever arrivals of about 566,200 tourists in 2004. Gross earnings from tourism increased from US$ 340 million in 2003 to US $ 413 million in 2004. The total earnings including earnings from visiting non-resident Sri Lankans increased by about 10% to US$513 million. The gross expenditure on travel also increased by about 6 percent to US$ 296 million in 2004 as a result of more Sri Lankans opting to travel abroad. Western Europe which accounted for 50 percent of the total arrivals in 2004, continued to be the largest tourist generating region for Sri Lanka, recording an increase of 13 percent in 2004. Arrivals from Asia, led by India, increased by 12 percent, accounting for 35 percent of the total arrivals in 2004. Arrivals from Australia, North America, the Middle East and Eastern Europe too recorded significant increases in 2004. *********** Italian tourist arrivals on the increase More than 270 Italian media, tour operators and retailers arrived in Sri Lanka as part of a unique project designed to boost the island's tourism industry. Based on last year's tourist arrival figures, Italy is Sri Lanka's fifth largest Western European tourist market, with 18, 862 visitors, behind UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands.
The project, called "Io Vado A Sri Lanka", was initiated in a bid to revive tourism following the December 2004 tsunami. On the agenda for the 271-strong tour group are some of the island's unique interior attractions, including the cultural triangle, which showcases more than 2,500 years of Sri Lankan history, Dambulla, the lush hill capital Kandy and the vibrant city of Colombo. The project was initiated by Sri Lankan tour operator Walkers Tours (John Keells Group), in conjunction with its main Italian partners Hotelplan Italy and Turisanda. Hotelplan Group is one of the ten largest travel companies in Europe. It sends about 7,000 tourists to Sri Lanka annually, the majority of those tourists travelling during the summer period. Sri Lanka Tourist Board (SLTB) Chairman, Udaya Nanayakkara, said the arrival of the tour group shows that with the help of the European community, Sri Lanka truly is bouncing back. "Initiatives such as these organised by the international community go a long way towards positioning Sri Lanka as a world-class travel destination," Nanayakkara said. "The Italian media and travel trade will provide first-hand their experience of the island, and in doing so, encourage tourists to come and see for themselves all that Sri Lanka has to offer," he said. The original campaign "Io Vado a...Travel for Solidarity" began in 2002 in New York - its key focus was to boost the tourism industry after September 11, and was the result of collaboration between operators, editors and major airlines. The success of the project was repeated in Hong Kong and Tokyo following the SARS epidemic of 2003. *********** Emirates voted the best Emirates, the Dubai based international airline was conferred with 'Best International Airline' and 'Best Economy Class' awards by Travel and Lifestyle-East Africa's leading travel publication. Emirates Group Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum received the prestigious accolades from Tony Clegg-Butt-Publisher and Editor of Travel and Lifestyle magazine. Several thousand readers of the magazine in East Africa cast their votes in favour of Emirates Airline. The award winning airline currently operates double daily flights between Nairobi and Dubai, as well as daily flights to Entebbe and Dar es Salaam. Sheik Ahmed, said: "Emirates is delighted to receive these from East Africa's most influential travel publication. The awards are a testimony of the high standards of quality and customer service offered by Emirates to its passengers". "Accolades such as these spur us to bolster our network operations and service levels in all markets, not least Africa". Tony Clegg-Butt said: "Emirates has been making positive strides in the region. By giving Emirates top honours, our readers have demonstrated their faith in the airline, its operations and services. The airline is definitely doing all the right things in this market". Emirates' Senior Vice President Commercial Operations Africa, Nasser bin Kherbash and Emirates' Regional Manager East Africa, Khalid Hassan were also present. *********** Cathay Pacific celebrates Xiamen services launch Cathay Pacific Airways celebrated the official launch of services from Hong Kong to Xiamen at a dinner in the Fujian Province city hosted by Chief Executive Philip Chen with Guest of Honour Xiamen Vice Mayor Xu Mo, Civil Aviation Eastern Region Administration Department Director General Xia Xinhua. The three weekly service from Hong Kong to Xiamen commenced on February 28 to extend the airline's network in the Chinese Mainland and further strengthen Hong Kong as a global hub and gateway to the Mainland. Cathay Pacific also services Beijing daily and operates 12 weekly freighter services to Shanghai. Seven more weekly Beijing services will be added soon. Those who attended the dinner in Xiamen also included Director General of Xiamen Municipal Trade Development Bureau Xiong Yanliang, Director General of the Xiamen Foreign Investment Bureau Sun Xiyou, Director General of the Xiamen Entry-Exit inspection and Quarantine Bureau Wang Zhongfu, and representatives from Xiamen Municipal Communications Committee and CAAC's transportation Department. *********** New GSA for British Airways World Cargo by Don Asoka Wijewardena Air Global Limited has been appointed as the General Sales Agents (GSA) for British Airways World Cargo in Sri Lanka from April 1. British Airways Cargo South Asia,Middle East and Australia Area Manager Ian Barrigan told a press conference at Hotel Trans Asia that British Air Cargo handling in Sri Lanka had played a pivotal role as most Sri Lankan garment exports to the USA and UK were being handled by the British Airways cargo. Barrigan also said that British Airways was one of the top ten leading cargo airlines in the world and had been transporting around 900 million kilos of freight, mail and courier traffic each year. British Airways had always customer oriented services around the globe, spanning nearly 200 destinations in over 80 countries. Referring to transport of perishable items, Barrigan said that fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers and pharmaceuticals were some of the items that British Airways had been transporting. He explained that its freighters had not only increased its flight frequency to key destinations but also had given the airline the opportunity to cater to the needs of any large or unusual air freight requests. Air Global Limited General Manager Kenneth Senaratne said that British Airways world cargo had firmly established itself as a key player in the air freight market in South Asia as it had formulated constructive plans to increase its commitment to the region. Air Global Limited would make every effort to increase its transport of various items from Sri Lanka to the four corners of the world with an assurance of impeccable service. Referring to Sri Lanka's export potential, Senaratne said that Sri Lanka had been a manufacturing hub with export-oriented economic policies that had attracted foreign investors in a variety of lucrative industries in fairly recent times. As a result of the air freight increase 60 per cent of the country's exports were going to the United States with 30 per cent of exports to the United Kingdom. |
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