Business travel

Germany to help Lanka realise tourist potential

In the wake of the recent relaxation of the German Travel advisory Ernst Hinsken, Member of the German Bundestag and Federal Government's Commissioner for tourism, visited Sri Lanka last week.

Accompanied by the German Ambassador in Sri Lanka J�rgen Weerth, Hinsken met Minister of Tourism Milinda Moragoda for extensive discussions on how the German government could assist Sri Lanka to realise the full potential of the growing German outbound market. He emphasised the recent relaxation of the travel advisory and said, "Germans need not fear visiting your beautiful country, where the people are smiling and the beaches and other natural attractions offer wonderful holiday opportunities".

He said, "although many German first-time visitors place safety and security concerns high in selecting a destination, tour operators who know Sri Lanka well and repeat visitors will support the destination to build confidence."

He said that the German Government could not ignore the facts that no foreign visitor has ever been harmed in Sri Lanka and that the country had a human resource base dependent on tourism that deserved support. He pledged his support to ensure that Sri Lanka Tourism's voice will be heard at the Bundestag.

Minister Moragoda, outlined the traditional relationship Sri Lankan tourism entrepreneurs had with Germany and of the various German investments in tourism in Sri Lanka and added that these ties needed to be further strengthened. On a request by Minister Moragoda, Hinskin agreed to look into the possibilities of assisting the MICE industry with training opportunities and on opportunities to promote Sri Lanka strongly in Germany.

Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau Renton de Alwis also participated.

IATA Agenda for Freedom Summit concludes

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) successfully concluded the Agenda for Freedom Summit. Fourteen nations and the European Commission attended the weekend meeting in Istanbul which focused on ways to further liberalise market access and ownership and control rules governing international civil aviation.

"This has been an extraordinary year for airlines. From oil prices that peaked at US$147 in July, to today's global financial crisis, the need for airlines to have the commercial tools that other industries take for granted has never been more critical," said IATA's Director General and CEO, Giovanni Bisignani,

The goal of the Agenda for Freedom Summit was to find ways to expand the commercial freedom of airlines, namely access to markets and to global capital. The meeting did not set out to sign any agreements or declarations.

"The conference was a success. The states had a very frank and open discussion on ownership and market access. We had gathered 15 of the most liberal players in aviation policy and three key outcomes emerged. The participants asked IATA to continue to facilitate this discussion with a second meeting in early 2009 to turn the discussion into action.

They also asked IATA to facilitate the development of a multi-lateral statement of policy that would be a powerful tool expressing the common thinking and approach of the group of states.

The group agreed to spread best practices in liberalisation by making more openly available to all states the most liberal agreements that are being negotiated," said Bisignani.

Emirates welcomes first flight to Los Angeles

Emirates, one of the world's fastest-growing international airlines commenced its Los Angeles service on October 27, as Flight 215 touched down at Tom Bradley Terminal, Los Angeles International Airport at approximately 1:05 p.m. local time.

The Los Angeles route marks the first non-stop operation connecting Dubai to Los Angeles. Emirates is flying its Boeing 777-200LR on the route, offering 266 seats in a three class configuration and providing up to ten tonnes of cargo capacity. Initially, service will be offered three times per week - Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays - before offering daily service upon the arrival of additional aircraft.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group said, "Los Angeles represents Emirates commitment to the American market. We have evaluated the US for expansion opportunities and have carefully examined our existing services in Houston and New York- both of which have been very successful.

We look forward to recreating this success by connecting Los Angeles to Dubai and beyond."

"This route opens a new destination for business and leisure travellers in the Gulf region, a part of the world not previously served from Los Angeles.

It will also enable travellers to reach every region of the world non-stop from LAX," said Los Angeles Mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa.

SriLankan Holidays - Singapore package

Explore downtown Singapore that's oozing with the heady aroma of spices. Tuck into the mouth-watering multi-ethnic cuisine at the ultra clean Hawker Street centres. Explore lush tropical forests. Take a vertiginous cable car ride to Sentosa Island and, in turn, marvel at its underwater world.

Admire the splendour and grandeur of one of the world's tallest artificial Christmas trees made almost entirely of LED lights in a magical blue and white winter landscape. The 61-metre tall architectural beauty and technological wonder lights up each day from November 1 at the Jewel Box Hotel in an ethereal charm.

These three fun-filled days and two romantic nights come in a specially created all-inclusive package from SriLankan Holidays - The Romantic Getaway to Singapore. It is replete with return airfare with taxes, hotel accommodation on a BB basis, return airport transfers and dinner at the Jewel Box Hotel with transfers from and to the hotel.

Operating out of Colombo until November 30, this package is primarily meant for couples.

Discover China with Singapore Airlines and Silk Air

Singapore Airlines " The world's most awarded airline" together with its subsidiary Silkair offer Sri Lankan consumers its latest promotional fares to China.

Attractive fares are on offer in Economy class to popular destinations such as Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Chengdu, Kunming and Chongqing.

The airfare to Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Xiamen is inclusive of all taxes while the airfare to Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Chengdu, Kunming, Chongqing is with taxes.

Swiss International Airlines code sharing with Edelweiss Air

Swiss International Airlines, the airline of Switzerland will operate a direct weekly code share service to Zurich in collaboration with Edelweiss Air for Tgis winter starting November 4.

The flight would operate on a triangular route departing Zurich on Monday evening and arriving Colombo on Tuesday morning and returning via Male to Zurich, the same day providing connections to major Swiss European destinations.

Swiss international Airlines is representated in Sri Lanka by GSA Baurs Air Services Ltd., a subsidiary company of a Baurs and Co. Ltd.

Cathay Pacific offers pre-Xmas specials to Bangkok and Singapore

The festive spirit is reaching sky high with Cathay Pacific Airways Sri Lanka launching pre-Christmas specials on Economy and Business Class, offering attractive fares to generate joy and merriment well in advance of the holiday season.

On Economy Class, Cathay's bookings end on November 30 although the travel period continues right up to New Year's Eve.

The pre-Christmas offers contributes to the many attractions offered to passengers that helped Cathay Pacific to win the Best Airline - Business Class Award at the 19th Annual TTG Travel Awards Ceremony held in Bangkok last week.

accepting the award from TTG Asia Media Managing Director Darren Ng, Country Manager Thailand, Aaron Chan said, "We're delighted that Cathay Pacific Airways has been recognised again for the excellence of our product and service."