Business Travel

SME sector hotels to receive loans for foreign trade fairs

By Surekha Galagoda

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Small and Medium hotels in the country will receive Rs. 700 mln as low interest loans and grants to promote their properties, refurbish and conduct promotional work at major tourism fairs overseas.

The loan at 13% interest will be given to Small and Medium hotels to refurbish their properties. The funds for this loan package are provided by the European Investment Bank. This is from the remaining money allocated for tsunami reconstruction.

A hotel will get a maximum of Rs. 20 mln and these loans can be obtained through the Bank of Ceylon and DFCC Bank and Rs. 600 mln is available under this scheme, said Secretary, Ministry of Tourism George Michael.

He said Rs. 100 mln will be allocated from the cess fund for Small and Medium hotels to participate in trade fairs.

As and when a Small or medium hotel wants to participate in a well-known trade fair they will be given a 90% discount on the stand cost and registration.

Already 63 small and medium hotel owners have registered to participate in 16 trade fairs in France, India, Russia, Japan, China, Germany and Italy.

In addition if Small and Medium hotels want to participate in any trade fair which the Tourism Promotional Bureau is not participating they will bear 50% of the stand and registration costs. It cannot be used for air tickets or accommodation, said Michael.

He said that they will continue with the projects that were started but will go slow on advertising as the country is not doing well in the tourism sector.

“Though we will go slow on advertising we will strengthen Public Relations activities as this is vital,” said Michael.

John Earle, a consultant has been sent by the Commonwealth Secretariat to the Tourism Ministry to develop a Tourism Plan for the country. He said that a new tourism office that is scheduled to be opened at the BIA next week will operate 24 hours of the day.

“We will be working with a research agency to carry out an airport exit survey at the BIA. Linked to this survey would be a complete promotional campaign where the visitors would be issued with discounts on bookings which includes the SME sector hotels as well.

A mega tourism promotional campaign via the print and digital media communicating special discounts at Small and Medium hotels targeted at families, couples and corporates are planned to woo more domestic tourists. He said that domestic tourism is not affected. Therefore, it is time to promote it.

He said that Indian travel agents will be accredited by Sri Lanka Tourism to promote Ramayana as a large number of Indians are due to visit the 50 sites in the country relating to Ramayana.

In addition we are planning to attract Buddhists from Thailand in an effort to promote religious tourism.

The ministry is holding discussions with SriLankan Airlines as well as other airlines on how best the Small and Medium sector can benefit from joint promotions.

In addition the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) will have a dedicated booking engine for the Small and Medium sector so that they could promote their properties and the facilities through the net to attract tourists.

Dilantha Malagamuwa, the first winner of Aston Martin Asia Cup (AMAC) was appointed as a Tourism Ambassador by Tourism Minister, Milinda Moragoda.Vice President Hotels Association of Sri Lanka, Srilal Miththapala said the industry is now facing an uphill task since the number of arrivals is dropping. “This is mainly due to the adverse travel advisories from Western countries.

He said that while the ‘big time’ hotels could face this situation for some time the SME sector would not be able to withstand it and the ultimate result would be retrenching the staff.

Therefore this package for the Small and Medium sector is very welcome and timely by the Tourism Minister Milinda Moragoda.

Vice President, Sri Lanka Inbound Tour Operators, Chandra Wickramasinghe said the series of promotions launched by the Tourism Promotional Bureau will help the Small and Medium sector.

“We are expecting over 5,000 Indian tourists next month for the India-Sri Lanka cricket matches and in addition promotional activities had been held to woo more Indians for the Kataragama festivals well as the beach carnival to be held in Hikkaduwa.”

Positive outcome from Chinese MICE planners tour

The visiting Chinese MICE planners were confident that they could initially couple Sri Lanka with the Maldives or India following their first visit to Sri Lanka on an inspection tour.

They expressed satisfaction with facilities and diversity where they could encourage Corporate and Association meetings and Incentives to visit Sri Lanka for a unique experience.

Sri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB) in collaboration with SriLankan Airlines and MICE China were successful in conducting its first ever familiarisation tour for five leading MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) planners from China.

The group consisted of Manager, China Travel International Ltd, Deputy General Manager, MICE, China Merchants International Travel Co., Ltd, Deputy General Manager, China Cyts Mice Service, Senior Sales Manager, China International Travel Service Head Office MICE, Head of MICE Department, Beijing Jiedajiaqi Travel Service, Co.Ltd and International Marketing Director, Hua Yuan International Travel Co., Ltd. They were accompanied by representatives of MICE China, a leading publisher on MICE news and the PR agency in China.

Qatar Airways flies to Kozhikode

Qatar Airways is busy preparing for its second route launch of the year with its latest Indian gateway being added to an ever-growing international route network from today.

The southern coastal city of Kozhikode, formerly known as Calicut, will be the airline’s 83rd route with daily non-stop scheduled flights from Doha. It also heralds further expansion into the Kerala State for Qatar Airways, which already operates to Cochin and Trivandrum.

The new route marks Qatar Airways’ commitment to the Indian market, becoming the airline’s ninth destination in a country enjoying tremendous growth.

Kozhikode is Kerala’s third largest city with a population of almost 500,000 people and home to serene beaches, historic sites, lush green scenery and world-renowned Ayurvedic health treatment - a haven for holidaymakers seeking adventure and relaxation.

Emirates to launch first commercial A380 service to America

Air travellers will experience Emirates Airline’s state-of-the-art A380 aircraft for the first time on August 1, when the airline launches its first A380 commercial service from Dubai to New York JFK.

The 14-hour non-stop flight will also be the first-ever commercial A380 service to The Americas.

Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum said,“The Americas represent a key focus area in Emirates’ route development plans, and we are delighted to be the first airline to launch commercial A380 services to the continent.

We are confident that Emirates’ customers travelling to and from North America will welcome the A380’s additional space and capacity, as well as our luxurious onboard amenities which will provide a very high quality travel experience previously associated only with private jets.”

Emirates’ A380 interiors and onboard product, which have been kept under wraps thus far, will be revealed for the first time when the airline receives its first A380 from Airbus’ Hamburg facility on July 28.

On August 1 and 3 Emirates will operate its brand-new A380 aircraft between Dubai and New York JFK on a commercial basis. These will be additional flights to its existing twice-a-day non-stop service.

Subsequently, Emirates will deploy the A380 between Dubai and New York, on one of its scheduled twice-daily flights.

SriLankan outsources database services to IBM

SriLankan Airlines entered into a partnership with IBM World Trade Corporation to outsource database services of Sri Lanka’s National Carrier.

Head of IT at SriLankan Airlines, Kamal Nanayakkara, and Country General Manager of IBM Sri Lanka, Charitha N. Wijewardane, signed the agreement at SriLankan’s corporate office at the World Trade Centre.

IBM recently became a partner of SriLankan’s extensive IT Infrastructure and has extended its services for the airline by accepting the challenge of providing DBA Services for AIX/ORACLE operations.

Head of IT at SriLankan, Kamal Nanayakkara said,“In keeping with the growing trend among corporates in Sri Lanka and globally, SriLankan Airlines is exploring the opportunities available for outsourcing certain IT functions, creating further opportunities for players in Sri Lanka’s IT industry to enter into business partnerships with the National Carrier to add value through business exposure.

This is a win-win situation for all parties, as our own IT team at SriLankan will gain exposure to valuable technical skills and be more focused on business domain knowledge unique to the airlines”

Country General Manager, IBM Sri Lanka, Charitha N. Wijewardane said, This service will help SriLankan Airlines to deliver an enhanced level of support for Oracle DBA services.