Travel

Sparklink unravels 3-decades success story

by Charmaine FERNANDO

Sparklink Travel (Pvt) Ltd, established in 1979, reached a remarkable milestone on August 8, 2009, reaching 30 years in providing specialized travel and tourism services, especially as an Outbound Travel Agency while it claimed a reasonable market share as an Inbound Travel Agency under the banner of Sparklink Holidays and Tours.

It is simply the 'word of mouth' stories of satisfied clients who have obtained our services for outbound and inbound tours, which has resulted in the popularity of Sparklink Travels. Becoming the preferred travel agent for innumerable corporate and non-corporate clients have lifted us over the past 30 years to the level we enjoy today, said Nihal C.B. Perera, Founder Chairman of Sparklink Travels (Pvt) Ltd speaking to Sunday Observer Business.

After resigning from the post of Director of the Ceylon Tourist Board having gathered experience from 1966 to 1978, Nihal Perera embarked in forming the travel company. My original investment in 1979 was not very substantial as it was not easy to obtain funds. The family pooled in resources and I invested savings from my EPF and other funds to get Sparklink off the ground. Subsequently over the years with growth of business I was able to plough back the returns towards the growth of the company.

Over 30 years, the company has grown to become a Market Leader in Outbound Travel, specializing in catering to the requirements of the corporate market segment winning several awards from leading airlines, especially Singapore Airlines, who crowned the company 'Champion of Champion' for 3 consecutive years in '81, '82 and '83. This was due to dedication and commitment on the part of Sparklink in providing good travel services to the expatriate community who have carried out various development projects in Sri Lanka and specialized travel services to Sri Lankans, who preferred our travel services and related aspects.

Sparklink organise tours offering a unique value to participants. We are inspired to design around peoples dreams and hopes by offering personalised services to satisfy their requirements on their choice of hotels, transportation and preferred destinations. Our overseas agent-network is strong and provide personalized services to all valued Sparklink customers who are taken on preferred tours to various destinations, he said.

Based on the confidence they have developed over the years, experiencing the personalized services provided by Sparklink, the expatriate community, foreign embassy staff and many Sri Lankans have made it a habit to access our travel packages and recommend same to their friends and relatives. Our Motto has been 'Come as a Client and Leave as a Friend' which coupled with our commitment and dedicated caring services, has paid rich dividends in developing a clients base who swear by Sparklink as the preferred Travel Agent.

His grounding in travel and tourism as former Director Planning and Development and subsequently as Director Publicity and Promotion of the Tourist Board has serves the company in good stead. Foreign Training with scholarships and Fellowship offered by the UN to visit many countries to study aspects of Travel Tourism and the Hospitality Industry has provided a stable backdrop. He is a Past President of the Travel Agents Association and IATA Agents Association and has served as Vice Chairman of the South Asia Integrated Tourism Human Resource Development Programme in Sri Lanka.

Emirates and Virgin Blue spread wings to more Australian gateways

Emirates and Virgin Blue Airlines have teamed up to launch the Emirates Visit Australia Pass allowing unprecedented access Down Under.

The pass offers attractively-priced domestic connections to 22 additional Australian destinations on Virgin Blue from all four Australian cities currently served by Emirates: Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.

Emirates passengers visiting this large, diverse and stunning country can extend their journey to Adelaide, Albury, Broome, Byron Bay, Cairns, Canberra, Coffs Harbour, Darwin, Fraser Coast, Gold Coast, Hamilton Island, Hobart, Karratha, Launceston, Mackay, Mildura, Newcastle, Newman, Rockhampton, Sunshine Coast, Townsville and Whitsunday Coast with Virgin Blue. The selection of cities will be expanded to include new destinations operated by Virgin Blue in future.

The Emirates Visit Australia Pass heralds positive news for Australian tourism - especially for centres outside the major cities.

The pass is yet another compelling consumer offer from Emirates and Virgin Blue, and closely follows an interline agreement reached between the two airlines last month to provide a convenient, single ticket option for travellers flying to regional points in Australia. Both initiatives will pave the way for seamless travel between Emirates? extensive global network of 99 destinations in 60 countries, and Virgin Blue's robust Australian footprint.

Richard Vaughan, Emirates; Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations Worldwide noted: Due to the sheer size of Australia, many visitors prefer to fly as against drive within the country.

With the Emirates Visit Australia Pass our passengers will benefit from an increased reach, conveniently accessing 22 additional Australian gateways from our four online points.

'We look forward to working with Virgin Blue and hope to grow this relationship to deliver a truly competitive offering for our customers.'

The pass must be issued in combination with return flights on Emirates to Australia on a single ticket. The international return journey must originate outside Australia and New Zealand. For travellers it means an enhanced travel experience with simple and streamlined ticketing. A minimum of two and a maximum of four domestic Virgin Blue flights can be combined with Emirates flights.

Ticketing must be completed by March 31, 2010 and travel should conclude within the validity period of the international ticket.

Interline guests transiting through Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney will be provided free transfers between the domestic and international airports.

Vaughan added: 'The Emirates Visit Australia Pass is an encouraging development for the Australian tourism industry as it offers an easy incentive for overseas travellers to see more of Australia and thereby stay longer.

Emirates' initiative to sell this product via travel agents worldwide is testament to its commitment to the Australian market.'

JF Tours joins agreement

JF Tours owners of Viceroy train has entered into an agreement with the Swiss and Queens Hotels of Kandy whereby passengers travelling on this train can stay at these two hotels at an affordable rate while transport too will be provided at a nominal rate from the station by these two hotels, which are owned by the Galle Face Hotel Group.

The service is expected to start with immediate effect to offer it during the August school vacation, said head of sales Ceylon Hotels Corporation.

Lanka-Nepal direct flights soon

Direct flights between Sri Lanka and Nepal will be commenced soon, Government sources quoting Foreign Secretary, Dr. Palitha Kohona said.

"The direct flight will happen very soon. We are aware that SriLankan Airlines is now going into the final details of the establishment of direct flight so that the connectivity between the two countries will be strengthened further", Government official website reported.

There are already around 40,000 Sri Lankan tourists who visit Nepal every year. With the establishment of the direct air link, the Government is confident that this number will go up further. It also hopes that this will encourage Nepalis to visit Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has some of the oldest Buddhist shrines in the world and Nepalis will be able to come directly to Sri Lanka to visit these in the future, he added.

Tourism Ambassador to Canada

Nalaka receiving his appointment

Nalaka Weerasinghe of Kandy and an alumnus of Dharmaraja College has been appointed as Sri Lanka's new Ambassador for Tourism to Canada, by the Minister of Tourism Promotion, Faiz Musthapa.

Weerasinghe will be a tremendous asset to the nation as he attempts to bring the Sri Lankan diaspora back to the island to visit as well as introducing non Sri Lankan Canadians to our motherland's charms.

He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Jeeva Weerasinghe from Kandy.