Travel

Kandyan Reach Hotel a preferred destination

General Manager, Kandyan Reach Hotel, Kurunegala, Samantha K. Wasala said the hotel has achieved a milestone in becoming one of the preferred destinations to local and foreign visitors.

The management has been able to meet international standards with facilities that suit the requirements of guests. The hotel facilities include a swimming pool for adults and children, rooms with balconies, restaurant, banquet and reception halls.

Wasala said, "The facilities and services offered by the hotel meet the modern-day necessities so that visitors can enjoy a pleasant stay. The hotel is situated around archaeological sites such as Panduwasnuwara, Yapahuwa, Giribawa, Reswehera, Wellyala and the Wilpattu National Park.

The hotel is 58 miles from Colombo. Away from the hustle and bustle of life, the Kandy Reach is an ideal location for holidaymakers to relax and enjoy a pleasant stay in an eye-catching and charming environment, Wasala said.

The Kandyan Reach adds glamour and glitter to functions of any nature be it weddings, conferences, seminars or workshops. The hotel has ballrooms, reception and conference halls.

(LF)

Goa - SriLankan's 50th destination

The famed Indian coastal resort town of Goa is to become SriLankan Airlines' 50th global destination, and the 10th in India, with the airline planning to launch services from Colombo in October.

SriLankan is the largest foreign carrier operating to India, with nearly a hundred weekly flights to New Delhi, Bombay, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Madras, Trichy, Trivandrum, Calicut and Kochi.

Chief Executive Officer of SriLankan Airlines Peter Hill said: "We at SriLankan are acutely aware of the growing importance and opportunities of the travel market into and out of india. SriLankan has positioned itself as the link between India and the rest of the world, and we have been steadily expanding our presence there in the last few years. We are very excited about commencing services to Goa, which we see as having excellent commercial prospects."

The twice-weekly flights, which would be of two hours' duration, are scheduled for Mondays and Saturdays.

Chief Commercial Officer Barry Brown said: "SriLankan continues to explore further opportunities by increasing our services to India, and we are currently considering launching services to more cities, as well as increasing the frequency of flights to existing destinations."

"We believe this service would be very useful for travellers between Goa on the one hand and our destinations in Europe and the Middle East on the other," said Regional Manager Sri Lanka and Indian subcontinent N. Prabaharan. "There is also a large volume of traffic between India and Sri Lanka, which is expected to keep on increasing" he said.

Skywards takes top honours in Los Angeles

Skywards, the frequent flyer program of Emirates and SriLankan Airlines, took top honours in Los Angeles at InsideFlyer magazine's 18th Annual Freddie Awards, the 'Oscars' of customer loyalty programs.

Skywards received a "Freddie" for "Best Reward Promotion, Asia-Pacific" for its Ramadan Promotion of 50% off reward flights to 30 destinations.

The freddie Awards provide travellers the opportunity to rank airline and hotel frequent traveller programs based on their own experience, through a system which balances the popular vote with the overall merit and quality of the program.

Vice President Skywards Brian LaBelle said: "We are delighted to have been recognised again for our delivery of service to our valued members. The Freddies are a top mark of recognition among loyalty programs in the airline industry. We are proud of our consistent success."

This is the 12th Freddie Award Skywards has received since its launch in 2000. These latest awards are added to Emirates' already impressive collection of more than 300 international awards. The awards are named after the late Sir Freddie Laker, founder of Laker Airways and the SkyTrain.

Graduation in Front Line Management

SriLankan Airline's first batch of students completed their graduation in Front Line Management recently at the SriLankan Airline training auditorium.

The Front Line Management certificate is awarded by TAFE South Australia, a world recognised tertiary and further education institute.

The ICBT Campus, the off-shore partner for TAFE Adelaide Management conducts courses designed for Front Line in-house programs whereby participants were given on the job management learning and training relevant to the Airline Industry.

Sunil Dissanayake, Head of Human Resources and Rajiv Kulatunga, Manager Human Resources at SriLankan Airline, Dr. Egerton Senanayaka, Dean of Faculty, Mohan Pathirana, General Manager, Mrs. Kumudu Randeny Finance Manager, Sampath Perera Program Manager (Postgraduate) ICBT Campus and Somesh Perera, Centre Manager at the ICBT City Campus were present.