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| Sunday, 23 April 2006 |
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Business |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Travel Travel Mart 2006 to woo new buyers by Surekha Galagoda
The mega Sri Lanka travel and tourism exhibition titled "Sri Lanka Gateway to South Asia" Travel Mart 2006 will be held from June 16-18 at the BMICH. The Travel Mart now in its 4th consecutive year, is growing to be the region's finest travel event. It provides the opportunity to generate new business leads, raise the company profile and capitalise on educational and networking opportunities. There will be over 150 exhibiting companies and 200 buyers from all over the world. The exhibitors will comprise tourism/MICE tourism sectors. Interested organisations or persons could register on-line on or before April 30, the organisers said. The icon for this year is the traditional Sesatha in keeping with this year's travel mart theme of Peace, Eternity, Prosperity, Purity and Knowledge - all attributes of the traditional Sesatha. The Sesatha is a ceremonial flag dating back to the time when the first Bo-sapling was brought to Sri Lanka, developing over the centuries into a ceremonial flag used at royal and religious functions. It consists of an embroidered cloth disc or talipot leaf decorated with mica and graphite, carrying images of the sun and moon which symbolise eternity and authority, while the lotus flower at its centre depicts purity. "The Sesatha is an ideal icon as it is an intricate work of Sri Lankan art and craftsmanship in bright colours, and also has a deep meaning.
The aim of the Travel Mart is to attract new buyers to visit Sri Lanka while consolidating connections with existing buyers. To achieve this, the Mart provides these buyers and operators with an encapsulated version of the diverse attractions Sri Lanka has to offer visitors. Sri Lanka Tourist Board chairman Udaya Nanayakkara said "South Asia is set to the travellers' Dream Destination of the Future" and Sri Lanka is firmly established as the Gateway to South Asia - a region which has all the mystery, magic and diversity that any visitor might wish for. Sri Lanka Tourism launched "Sri Lanka Gateway to South Asia" Travel Mart three years ago. The South Asia region, and Sri Lanka in particular, is fast changing in the perception of the visitor. The Third Travel Mart, which received a record number of visitors, has contributed much towards this by showing the diverse attractions, many exotic and waiting to be discovered. Visitors to the mart, the theme of which was "Beyond Beaches to Nature, Culture and Adventure", were able to experience an encapsulated version of the many delights awaiting them on this island. From the beautiful sun-kissed beaches to the invigorating mountain trails in the hill country and the exciting jungle safaris in our wildlife sanctuaries. They were also able to experience the tranquil beauty of our ancient monuments which tell the tale of civilisation spanning thousands of years, the sheer exhilaration of white water rafting, absailing, deep sea diving and trekking in our great outdoors. The Third Gateway also demonstrated that besides the traditional markets such as Germany, France and UK, new markets are beginning to show a keen interest in the region. Among countries that are represented in bigger delegations were China, India, Korea and the Middle East. At this exhibition all tourism products of South Asia will be displayed under one roof, allowing buyers to get a quick overview of the South Asian Tourism product and its potential. Professional development seminars will educate buyers and exhibitors, helping them gain a better insight into the Sri Lankan and South Asian markets, while selected topics will emphasise the South Asian market with presentations made by prominent industry professionals. A minimum of 200 buyers and 150 international and local exhibitors are expected to participate in the Mart this year. Pre and post Mart tours have been planned to give them first hand experience of these attractions, which would help them in selling the destination. Exhibitors are given the opportunity to fix the appointments with the Buyers at a Buyer/Seller meeting a day prior to the event to maximise the opportunity to arrange fruitful business discussions and negotiations. It is sponsored by the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd. (ANCL), Sri Lanka Tourist Board, Ministry of Tourism, BMICH, Sri Lanka Conventions Bureau, Travel Agents Association of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators, Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka, HSBC, B.A.R. Sri Lanka, Colombo City Tourist Hotels Association, Rupavahini and TTG Asia. Emirates Skycargo expands Services to Europe Emirates SkyCargo launched scheduled freighter services to Zurich, Rome and Vienna effective April 6, 7 and 8. The services, operated with the newest fleet acquisition, the Airbus A310-300F freighter, will maximise capacity across Emirates SkyCargo's growing route network, connecting Central Europe to Dubai as a gateway into Africa, the Indian Subcontinent and the Far East. Services to Zurich will run twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays, services to Rome will operate on Wednesdays and Fridays and services to Vienna will operate on Saturdays. The expansion into Vienna will allow customers to capitalise on transit access to a number of markets including Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic and improve trade channels for commodities in electronics and garments from the Indian Subcontinent and the Far East to Southern Europe, as well as enhance trade of telecommunication equipment to the Indian Subcontinent. The new route to Zurich will enable the export of perishables and special cargo from Indian subcontinent and Australasia as well as open trade of general merchandise to the Middle East. Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President Cargo Ram Menen said: "The addition of the A310F freighter to Central Europe will further enhance the flexibility of our current network, while providing our customers with increased access to strategic gateways, particularly across the expanded EU. "Our fleet, currently a mix of A310Fs and Boeing 747Fs has increased our versatility and our response times. We have established a track record in meeting the demand for freighter service, and in accommodating increased capacity and volumes with efficiency. The expansion to Zurich, Rome and Vienna will assist us in meeting our commitment to provide better access, increased speed and quality of service for our growing number of customers. The new routes will also allow us to eliminate long tracking on urgent shipments," he said. SriLankan Airlines time change The government's decision to turn the clock back by 30 minutes, thereby reverting to the time zone GMT + 5 1/2 hours will only have an impact on SriLankan Airlines operations into and out of Colombo. Departure and arrival times of flights into and out of Colombo advanced by half and hour from April 15. The first SriLankan Airlines flight to have a time change was UL316 from Colombo via Singapore to Kuala Lumpur on April 15. All SriLankan Airlines flight times into and out of its overseas destinations will remain unchanged. |
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