Business travel

Poor roads, a drawback to tourism

by Lalin FERNANDOPULLE

[email protected]
 

Tourist guides are unable to accompany tourists to their destinations on time due to the poor road infrastructure which is a major obstacle to promote tourism, said President, Sri Lanka Institute of National Tourist Guides Lecturers (SLINTGL), Joe Livera.

He said time management is an essential factor for the success of a tour. If a tour is badly handled tour operators have to compensate tourists for poor time management.

"Tourists are particular in making the best use of the time and they would not want to spend five to six hours on the roads which are not conducive for travelling", Livera said.

SLINTGL has planned to launch capacity building programs to enhance knowledge and develop skills of lecturers. Good lecturers will be rewarded with more tours and as a result the tourism industry will benefit.

Livera said the Institute will increase the number of lectures conducted during a month to attract school-leavers and community leaders.

Programs will be conducted to create awareness on the potential of the tourism industry.

Secretary General, SLINTGL, Wijesiri Manawadu said guiding tourists is a highly rewarding job but the challenges are immense. A guide has to be well versed in the language, geography and history of the country. They have to be on their feet and ensure a smooth journey for travellers.

Manawadu said around 20 members have left for overseas jobs and many have found other employment due to the drop in the number of tourist arrivals.Long haul travelling has been restricted due to the escalating global financial crisis.

"The number of Tourist arrivals recorded the highest during the early 1980s up to mid 2003. The tourism industry was hit by the tsunami and since then it has not revived", he said.

Tourism in Sri Lanka is centred around culture, adventure and beaches. Most visitors spend around one week to 10 days to get a glimpse of the country's culture, discover locations and enjoy the sunny beaches.

The security measures imposed at many historical and religious places have caused difficulties for tourists to visit these places.

Visitors to the Sri Maha Bodhi and Ruwanwelisaya have to walk a long distance and face many hardships at check-points. "Over 65 per cent of visitors are from Europe and the number of tourists will increase as France and Germany have lifted their travel bans," he said. SLINTGL is constructing a building at a cost of Rs. 30 million for human resource development and capacity building of industry personnel. The project will be completed by the end of next year.

Agra celebrates first anniversary

'Agra', an exclusive Indian restaurant offering authentic North Indian Moghul cuisine celebrated its first anniversary. It also coincided with the 50th birthday celebrations of Shanker Somasunderam, the owner of the restaurant.

Somasunderam said, "We have had a very successful year, especially in being able to meet a niche market, tantalising their taste buds with authentic Indian cuisine. The restaurant has attracted a loyal clientele who enjoy the ambience and the exquisite dining experience that is offered here. In terms of the future, we plan to further heighten the customer's dining experience by bringing in more improvements and value additions".

Centrally located at Independence Avenue, Colombo 7, Agra offers uniquely classy and up market cuisine. With a tag line of 'Exquisite Indian Cuisine', the restaurant brings in an eclectic range of North Indian food, consisting of vegetarian and non-vegetarian varieties.

Taking inspiration from the Moghul Empire, whose best-known symbol of passion is the Taj Mahal, at Agra, the restaurant has been designed taking the cultural and architectural elements into consideration, from the decor to the interior design of the restaurant.

Cathay Pacific wins another in-flight sales award

Cathay Pacific was honoured again for its inflight sales efforts, winning the "Inflight/Marine Retailer of the Year" award at the Frontier Awards held in Cannes. The prestigious awards have been run by the UK-based travel-retail publication for more than 20 years.

The Inflight/Marine Retailer of the Year category aims to "reflect innovation and excellence" in retailing to a highly specialised audience. According to Frontier, "entrants should show evidence of having raised the prevailing standards in their sector significantly through merchandise selection, presentation, customer service, crew training, marketing and promotions, or all of the above."

Collecting the award on behalf of CX was Inflight Sales and Logistics Manager Camilla Taylor, who paid tribute to the hard work of everyone in her team and to all the cabin crew in CX who have helped to push inflight sales to new heights at the airline.

This is the third major honour for the CX Inflight Sales team in 2008. The airline took the "Inflight Travel Retailer of the Year" honour at the DFNI Global Awards 2008 for Travel Retail Excellence in London in February as well as being named "Best Website Serving the Asia/Pacific Travelling Consumer" at the DFNI Asia/Pacific Awards in Singapore in May.

Keells Resort Hotels unveils career website

The Keells Resort Hotels Human Resources Division recently launched a career website - http://www.johnkeellshotelshr.com.

The site features all current vacancies available within Keells Resort Hotels in Sri Lanka and the Maldives and facilitates interested candidates to apply for the desired positions directly. It also gives the potential candidates the opportunity to register with the site, which will in turn notify them via an e-mail if any suitable vacancies arise.

In keeping with the theme 'more than just a workplace', the newly developed site showcases some of the current employees epitomising the company's beliefs and values by contributing beyond the scope of their job descriptions and making an impact in the company.

The website also gives an insight into the holistic development of an employee at Keells Resort Hotels and shares the company's healthy HR practices and ethics. "We believe that our employees should also have some time to relax as well, indulge in their hobbies and interests and spend a while doing the things they love', said Head of Human Resources- Leisure Resorts, Ishara Naufal. "At Keells Resort Hotels, we not only give our staff every incentive to excel in their work; we also take pride in encouraging them to follow their passions in life".

Hilton Colombo promotes Kottu Fest

The Hilton Kottu Fest is now an eagerly 'looked-forward-to' event following the success of the first Kottu Fest, held to celebrate the Hilton's 21-year long presence in Sri Lanka.

The team convenes again this Sunday for another bigger and better Kottu Fest.

Tying up with the Sri Lanka Tourist Board, Hilton Colombo hopes to make the Kottu Fest an annual national event, thus promoting authentic local cuisine experiences.

Events such as these, not only boost tourism in the country, but also provides a better 'Sri Lankan' experience to visitors to the country.

Hilton Colombo stands out in its initiative to promote local culture with innovative events such as this.

To Sri Lankans, food is more than something to satisfy those hunger pangs.

It is a means of meeting friends and family and having a good time. Accompanied by the clattering of metal blades traditionally used to make the Kottu, this provided the perfect setting for a wonderful evening at the Hilton Colombo.

The Kottu is prepared by a team of over 100 chefs, looked over quite ably by Hilton Colombo's Executive Chef Rohan Fernandopulle.