Business travel

around 10 billion people will travel by 2010 - High Commissioner

The security situation in Sri Lanka will be monitored and if there is an improvement in the security situation in the Government liberated areas the travel advisory will be lifted, said High Commissioner of the United Kingdom, Dr. Peter Hayes.

He was addressing the Second Annual General Meeting of the Responsible Tourism Partnership (RTP) on Tuesday.

Dr. Hayes said Britons always preferred to spend their holidays in Sri Lanka enjoying the culture, environment and the hospitality of the people.

"A peaceful situation should prevail in the entire country for visitors to explore the beauty of locations. Sri Lanka has some of the unique aspects of tourism which helps to attract more visitors to the country", he said.

Over one billion people have been travelling this year and it is estimated that around 10 billion people will travel by 2010.

With more people travelling the impact on the environment will be greater and if steps are not taken to preserve the environment tourism will be a major problem.

He said global tourism accounts for 10 per cent of the world's GDP. Countries should allocate funds to support the local community and protect the resources.

Managing Director, Jetwing Hotels Ltd., Hiran Cooray said the British market has been the bread and butter for Sri Lanka's tourism for a considerable period.

"Today the Indian tour market is growing with over 100,000 tourists visiting the country a year.The number of arrivals from Britain has dropped to around 90,000 a year", Cooray said.

Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, George Michael said the impact of climate change has become a major threat to tourism. Laws will be introduced to preserve the environment.

RIP which was set up two years ago with leading UK tour operators has been promoting sustainable tourism through various projects such as tree planting, livelihood development, education and community participation in tourism promotion activities.

LF

Traffic slowdown continues - Asia leads August decline

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released international traffic data for August that confirmed a continuing downturn. International passenger demand growth slowed to 1.3%, following disappointing growth of 1.9% in July.

Passenger load factors fell to 79.2%, a sharp drop-off from the 81% recorded during the corresponding period last year as capacity growth outpaced demand. International freight traffic saw its third consecutive month of contraction with a 2.7% decline following drops of 1.9% in July and 0.8% in June.

"Passenger traffic grew by 5.4% in the first half of the year.

That slowed to 1.9% in July and 1.3% in August. The contrast between the first half of the year and the last two months is stark," said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's Director General and CEO. "The slowdown has been so sudden that airlines can't adjust capacity quickly enough.

While the drop in the oil price is welcome relief on the cost side, fuel remains 30% higher than a year ago. And with traffic growth continuing to decline, the industry is still heading for a US$5.2 billion loss this year."

Air freight has declined for the past three months, led by Asia Pacific carriers that posted a 6.5% decline in July and a 6.8% decline in August. "Airlines carry 35% by value of the goods traded internationally.

The three-month decline-led by weakness in Asia-Pacific markets-is a clear indication that global trade is slowing down.

This shows that the impact of the financial crisis is broad geographically and will worsen before it gets better," said Bisignani.

Emirates SkyCargo welcomes new Vice President

Abbas A. Haji has joined the Emirates SkyCargo team in Dubai as Vice President Cargo - Commercial Development, reporting directly to Divisional Senior Vice President Cargo, Ram Menen.

In his new role, Abbas is responsible for driving the development of Emirates SkyCargo's "Priority" portfolio, including Courier, Express and Mail. The three priority products experienced an average of 30 per cent growth in the 2007-08 financial year and are on track to achieve further growth this year. Abbas joined the Emirates Group in 1977, working for Dnata Cargo. Over the last 30 years, he has held a variety of management positions within the group including at Dnata Airport Services, the Dnata/Safiran project in Tehran, Dnata ground handling Doha, Gerry's Dnata in karachi, Emirates Manager Iran and Area Manager Bahrain.

 

SriLankan celebrates the tradition of honesty among its staff

SriLankan Airlines celebrated the strong tradition of honesty among its employees, by recognising 18 staff who found and returned many valuable items and large amounts of money which passengers had left on board aircraft.

The National Carrier recently paid tribute to staff of the Security Department and Aircraft Interior Servicing Department for their professionalism.

Foremost among them was Senior Security Assistant W.A. Shelton who won the admiration and cheers of the entire airline when he found and returned more than Rs. 650,000 in foreign currency and travellers cheques left by a Sri Lankan passenger from the UK who was visiting Sri Lanka with her family.

Also honoured were 17 men and women who while cleaning various aircraft discovered and returned numerous mobile phones, cameras, purses, video games, watches, spectacles, MP3 players and handycams.

Manoj Gunawardena, the airline's CEO, said: "In an era of gimmicks and rapid service, values such as integrity often take a backseat.

But companies that can build a reputation for integrity will remain strong forever in the hearts and minds of their customers.

To Shelton this was nothing extraordinary. But to this airline, this act signifies the extraordinary level of integrity that prevails among all members of the SriLankan family."

Priorities for Indian aviation

"The global crisis resulting from high oil prices and declining traffic is hitting India hard. Growth has slowed from 33% in 2007 to 7.5% for the first six months of this year.

And the last two months have been negative. Indian carriers could post US$ 1.5 billion in losses in 2008, the largest outside the US. Urgent action is needed to help Indian carriers weather the perfect storm of high costs and falling demand," said Giovanni Bisignani, Director General and CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The Best of British at Echelon Pub

The Echelon Pub's 'The Best of British' is the new 'Sunday Treat' in town starting in October and will continue every Sunday from 12 noon to 4 p.m.

Chef's 'Best of British' special of the day accompanied with all the traditional trimmings along with the Sunday roast and British favourites such as Sticky Toffee Pudding, Sherry Trifle, Spotted Dick and more will rotate every week.

"The Colonial style pub is a place to chill and enjoy your day off with your family. This promotion is definitely value for money", said the hotel's Marketing Communications Manager Gigi De Silva. Guests could also enjoy their favourite sport on wide screen or take advantage of the private booth with its own TV.