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| Sunday, 28 August 2005 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Travel Club Palm Garden reopens on Sept 1 The Club Palm Garden in Beruwela (part of the Confifi Group of Hotels) on the south west coast of Sri Lanka reopens on September 1.
A spokesman for the hotel said the resort is reopening one month earlier than planned with 140 spacious guest rooms, each with its own private balcony or terrace and view of the ocean, poolside, or magnificent gardens. All rooms are facilitated with individually controlled air-conditioning, ceiling fan, attached bathroom, piped music and telephone. The Club Palm Garden has just the right ambience to make your vacation more memorable and enjoyable, he said. The excitement of a sun splashed beach, animation programs, 'mini kiddies' club, sumptuous buffet, creative theme nights, water sports activities, tennis, basketball, fitness centre and eco-park are also available. "At the Club Palm Garden, there is always something to do. Our talented animation team is highly trained and incredibly energetic and you are sure to love these roving ambassadors who are constantly supplying the perfect platform for you to have fun, he said. Emirates' online bookings soar Emirates' online bookings have soared in the first four months of its current financial year on the wings of special offers and fares strong demand for its services and a user-friendly website. In April passengers travelling with online booking increased by 195 per cent, in May by 230 per cent, in June by 225 per cent and in July by 154 per cent compared to the corresponding month, last year. Reflecting the global reach of the airline, the top ten countries for online bookings during this period include those from the GCC - the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait; Europe - UK and Germany; Asia Pacific - Australia, New Zealand and Thailand as well as USA and South Africa. Baharain and Qatar figured among the top 15 countries, signifying the cyberspace savvy of customers in the Middle East, where in the last five-year growth in internet usage has been the fastest in the world, pegged at more than 300 per cent. Emirates' Executive Vice President Commercial Operations Worldwide, Ghaith Al Ghaith said, "We thank our customers for their vote of confidence. Over the past few years, Emirates has invested significantly in its online booking engine to make it dynamic, fully secure, faster and more user-friendly. Coupled with e-ticketing in over 80 per cent of our network, we were positive about the success of our online booking feature." "Our valued travel agents and partners still account for the bulk of our total bookings. Last year, we launched websites in key markets, designed specifically to assist our travel agents to sell Emirates' products and services." Emirates has been offering online booking facilities for several years now and is available in 33 countries across USA, Europe, Africa, Middle East, the Indian sub-continent, Far East and Australia. The customer-savvy online booking site is also available in multiple languages - French, German, Italian, Russian and English, with Arabic set to come on board shortly. Lanka's master drummer teams up with Bill Cobham for WOMAD Singapore Master Sri Lankan choreographer Ravibandhu will join forces with legendary USA drumming sensation Bill Cobham as they step into the spotlight at a major international music festival in Singapore this weekend. Ravibandhu, the first Sri Lankan artiste to make an appearance at a top global event is collaborating with the legendary Bill Cobham at Singapore's eighth World of Music, Arts and Dance (WOMAD) Festival from August 26-28. Ravibandhu's performance in Singapore will provide an exciting preview to the inaugural WOMAD Sri Lanka, a five-day "Festival of Drums" to be held from September 21-25 and follows his earlier appearance at WOMAD UK from July 29-31. WOMAD Sri Lanka, an event of the Sri Lanka Tourist Board (SLTB), will showcase some of the world's most celebrated drummers, including Bill Cobham, hot UK dance act The Bays, the Dhol Foundation (India/UK) and the Drummers of Burundi, direct from central Africa. The event will be held against a backdrop of some of the country's famous icons; the Galle Face Green and two free outdoor acoustic concerts in Kandy and Negombo. In Singapore, choreographer Ravibandhu and his troupe of 12 dancers gave stage performances - on Friday, August 26 on the Fort Green Stage, Saturday August 27 and will perform today, Sunday at 7.15 p.m. both on the Fort Gate Stage. Ravibandhu and his troupe will perform traditional Kandyan drumming and dance, a distinctive tradition performed right across the island nation, comprising a blend of Kandyan, India and Western classical and jazz. In addition, WOMAD Singapore festival-goers can experience a snapshot of Sri Lankan culture at the Sri Lankan booth. The highlights include silver jewellery-making by Rajakaruna of Dharmadasa Arts and Crafts from Kandy and Sri Anura's Nalin Gamvary, who will be animating puppets to music and songs. SLTB Chairman, Udaya Nanayakkara, said the inclusion of Ravibandhu and his dancers provides an excellent opportunity to showcase to festival-goers in Singapore and around the world, the diversity the island has to offer. "Ravibandhu is not just known to Sri Lankans - he has performed all over the world," Nanayakkara said. "This provides Sri Lanka with the chance to demonstrate further its diverse culture and heritage - not only do we have seven World Heritage Sites, up to 500,000 acres (200,000 hectares) of tea plantations and craft-making traditions dating back to the birth of time - but also our very own unique drumming and dance traditions," he said. "And this year, the highlight of Sri Lanka's tourism calendar will be to host our own inaugural WOMAD festival," he added. Rs 5.2 million to develop natural water springs by Surekha Galagoda The natural water springs close to the Bibile town are being developed at a cost of Rs 5.2 million by the Ceylon Tourist Board(CTB) to promote the domestic tourism industry.
Themed Bibile Bubula development project it consists of a restaurant, toilets, changing rooms and bathing facilities. The site which has three natural water springs is five- hundred metres away from the Bibile town. It is in Medagama on the Nakkala Road. At any given time ten people can have a bath at these natural water springs as water comes gushing at 16 litres per second. From ancient times pilgrims and tourists on their way to Kataragama stop at this popular spot to have a bath and freshen up. But they are denied toilets or a place to have food, or a place to change. In 2003 the CTB identified the shortcomings and decided to develop the place to provide comfort for those who visit this place to enjoy a dip in the cold water springs. Earlier there was only a footpath to the spings. On the directions of the Chairman of the CTB Udaya Nanayakkara the Director of Development T. Suriyagoda and his staff are busy completing the construction work. The complex will be completed by early October this year. Stones are being used to pave the walkways while there are three stone carvings depicting the crocodile, elephant and the cow. We are using stones to pave the walkways to give a historical look while the carvings are done according to the designs of the Isurumuniya carvings. Residents in the area will be able to hold functions in the restaurant free. The restaurant can accommodate around 100-200 persons. Initially the project will provide employment to five people. Lanka's hotel industry to showcase products in India Sri Lankan suppliers to the food and hotel industry will be provided with a unique opportunity to showcase their products and services to the large Indian market, when the first "Food and Hotel" exhibition takes place in Kerala in November this year. Food and Hotel India is organised by South Asia Exhibition Services (SAES), the holding company of Lanka Exhibition and Conference Services (LECS) through its Indian arm. The event is expected to provide an opportunity for the hospitality industry and its professionals to upgrade the standards of the properties in the region by being aware of the new technology and products that are available in the market. LECS Business Development Manager Lilantha Jayaratne said: "This exhibition is a stepping stone for Sri Lankan suppliers to the hotel industry to enter the Indian market. It will provide an opportunity for representatives of large scale as well as small and medium enterprises to meet their Indian counterparts and hotel owners and other members of India's hospitality industry to form business relationships." Among those expected to attend the exhibition are hotel and resort owners, hotel development executives, chefs, business development managers, housekeeping personnel, general managers, IT managers, food and beverage managers, engineering managers and other business leaders. The organisers expect more than 25 per cent of exhibitors at Food and Hotel India to be from Sri Lanka with over 50 per cent being from India and the remaining 25 per cent from UAE, Singapore, Thailand and Australia. Local frozen food manufacturers will be targeted for this exhibition, as the demand from India for locally manufactured frozen foods is high, the company said. Porcelain manufacturers are another group that will be targeted. Products and services eligible to be displayed include food and beverages, catering equipment and services, premises and facilities management and technology, furniture, furnishings and tableware and health, leisure and entertainment. Several foreign speakers will make technological presentations on the latest global trends in various subjects related to the food and hotel industry, such as food safety, food preservation and trends in organic food, in an attempt to keep suppliers in the Asian region abreast of global trends. A culinary challenge is also being held concurrently with the exhibition where. Indian chefs will cook food on-the-spot and be judged by world renowned food experts. The rationale behind holding this exhibition in Kerala, the first international food and hotel suppliers event in the South Indian state, was a boom in the tourism industry of the area, which resulted in several international and local hotel chains investing in new hotel properties and upgrading existing properties. Kerala has seen a 17 per cent growth in tourist numbers in 2004 and received 5.8 million domestic tourists last year. Kerala Tourism and the Association of Approved and Classified Hotels of Kerela (AACHK) called upon SAES to organise this exhibition to promote tourism in the region. India Exhibition and Conference Services (IECS), the Indian arm of SAES is working closely with Kerala Tourism, the Indian local government body for the promotion of tourism in Kerala, and the AACHK to organise the event. The national sales partner of the event is Virtual Information Systems - Mumbai. SriLankan Airlines which operates daily direct flights between Sri Lanka and Cochin is the official airline. SAES is the leading exhibition organiser in the South Asian region. The company is managed by a team of professionals who count nearly a decade of experience in organising exhibitions at international venues in the South Asian region. The company has subsidiary companies in the Maldives, India and Sri Lanka
and has a network of agents in India, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and
Dubai. SAES through LECS organises Construct, Profoods, AISEX and Hotel Show
in Sri Lanka, Hotel Asia - Maldives, Male International Boat Show and Edu
Vision through Maldives Exhibition and Conference Services (MECS) in the
Maldives and the Food and Hotel exhibition through IECS in India. |
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