[Business travel]

SMAPs awarded plaques and certificates

First phase of three-year project concludes:

by Surekha GALAGODA

[email protected]

The first phase of the three-year project to develop the Small and Medium Accommodation Providers (SMAPs) in Sri Lanka and Nepal concluded recently and all SMAPs who followed the training program were awarded plaques and certificates.

Funded by the European Commission the investment on the Project is 175,000 Euros.

The project is commissioned and implemented by Hilfswerk Austria.

Deputy Minister of Tourism Faizer Musthafa who commended the program said that the Ministry will develop the program to be held in other regions as well.

The objectives of the project are to enhance the selling capabilities of the small and medium scale accommodation providers and improving the product and service standards in these establishments, said Country Manager Hilfswerk Austria, David Mangala.

Forty Sri Lankan and 80 Nepali small scale establishments will be supported under the project to develop their product and service standards to cater to tourists around the world.

Accommodation providers in Negombo, the Southern stretch which includes Bentota, Beruwela, Hikkaduwa, Unawatuna, and Tangalle were selected under the pilot project and they have already completed 10 training programs.

The training sessions conducted by lecturers of the Hotel School were in Front Office, House-keeping, Food and Beverage and cookery. Lectures on Marketing, safety, Hygiene and sanitation were also included and the training programs were held in three regions.

The participants said that this sector was neglected earlier and were very grateful to Hilfswerk for taking the initiative to train the SMAPs.

They said that they learnt a lot and wanted even to charge a fee and continue the training.

Project Manager Tourism, Hilfswerk Austria, Sandamala Wickramaratne said that Hilfswerk was happy to support the SMAPs.

The second phase will be launched in November and once it is completed the best SMAPs from each region will be selected and rewarded.

The selection criteria for SMAPs was that each place of accommodation should be less than 20 rooms and employ less than 20 persons. Most importantly, we will not support any villa or boutique type of accommodation.

She said that they are looking at developing a marketing mechanism through IT under the second phase so that the interaction between the Nepal, Sri Lankan and Austrian SMEs will strengthen Sri Lanka Tourism.

Mangala said that development of SMEs in the hospitality industry is a high priority of the Ministry of Tourism under the guidance of Deputy Minister Faizer Musthapha while the program is spearheaded with the support of the Sri Lanka Tourism Authority Chairman Renton De Alwis.

The SMAPs logo depicts Nepal and Sri Lanka. The hills on the logo represent Nepal while the sunny beaches represent Sri Lanka.

Hilton to celebrate Big 21 with Giant Sandwich

Hilton Colombo has come up with a novel concept to celebrate its 21st anniversary. Hilton Colombo, a connoisseur in the hospitality trade will be making a 21-meter-long sandwich to mark its "Big 21" birthday on September 21. The celebratory event will showcase a number of culinary delights prepared by Hilton's finest and talented, award winning team of chefs. The 21-meter-long sandwich will be prepared by a team of 12 chefs under the auspices of Hilton's Executive Chef Rohan Fernandopulle.

The team from Hilton will make this scrumptious sandwich using a range of Hilton's signature sandwich fillings, all which will be on offer upon request at the "Big 21" event.

The entire process of preparing the sandwich, from baking the delicious Brioche bread to filling it with different types of sandwich filling, will take place on the day of the celebrations.

The sandwich will be placed on a long table and cut in to 21 cm individual pieces a la minute! Catering to a wide preference, the sandwich fillings will include tuna fish, egg and mayonnaise, cheese and tomato and a choice of cold cuts.

Move to attract more Lankan travellers to Malaysia

Tourism Malaysia together with Sri Lankan travel operators launched its first marketing initiative in Colombo to attract more Sri Lankan travellers to Malaysia.

Malaysia is becoming a main tourist destination. Today our main markets are China, Thailand and Indonesia and the industry is highly dependent on volatile Asian markets. We want to diversify the markets and attract more Asian and non-Asian travellers, the Malaysia High Commissioner in Colombo Rosli Ismail told the media.

The tourism industry in Malaysia is growing steadily. The number of tourist arrivals in 1999 was eight million and this year our target is 22.5 million. To sustain the growth we are looking at emerging markets such as Sri Lanka.

Tourist arrivals from Sri Lanka too show a steady growth and in 2007, 31,000 Sri Lankan tourists visited Malaysia, Ismail said.

Malaysia has been transformed during the past few decades into a modern country with superb infrastructure, hotels, shopping centres and other facilities that are needed for the tourism industry. Since Malaysia is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country there is a vast cultural diversity, he said.

The 14-member Malaysian trade delegation was led by Director, Tourism Malaysia, South Asia region, I. Manoharan.

"Last year's tourist arrivals from Sri Lanka show a 58% growth compared to the previous year.

We are keen to position Malaysia as a key tourist gateway in South East Asia offering diverse tourism products with a thrust towards first world ambience, urban life, shopping, golf, entertainment and theme parks, Manoharan said.

Malaysia is easily accessible from Sri Lanka with 13 direct flights a week offered by the two carriers, SriLankan Airlines and Malaysian Airlines.

Malaysia, today, has successfully broadened its horizons as a global holiday gateway and is rated as the second most price competitive destination in travel and tourism by the Geneva based World Economic Forum and as the best destination for the year 2008 by Lonely Planet.

Malaysia has also received recognition as a premier golfing destination as reiterated by the '2008 Asia and Australia Golf Destination of the year' awarded by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO), Manoharan said. GW

Commitment to Flight Efficiency Plan

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) signed a three-party commitment to a Flight Efficiency Plan with EUROCONTROL, and CANSO (Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation).

The aim of the plan is to expedite efficiency improvements in European air traffic management to achieve annualised savings of 470,000 tonnes of fuel per year in a six-month work program. This will save EUR390 million and reduce CO2 emissions by over 1.5 million tonnes.

"The air transport industry is in a perfect storm of high fuel costs and falling demand.

Airlines are expected to lose US$5.2 billion this year and another US$4.1 billion next. Saving fuel is critical to survival and to improving environmental performance," said IATA's Director General and CEO Giovanni Bisignani.

SriLankan cuts fuel usage

SriLankan Airlines is focusing on sharply reducing its fuel usage to counter the challenge posed by high global oil prices.

A series of fuel-saving measures have already been implemented, while more will be put in place within weeks.

The airline's Chief Financial Officer S A Chandrasekera said, "The global airline industry is undergoing its biggest ever crisis due to the steep increases in the price of aviation fuel.