Travel

'Jetliner': a novel experience for foreign and local tourists

The 'Jetliner' docked at the Colombo Port has attracted local and foreign tourists for cruises and functions on board, said an official of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB).

He said bookings have been made for on board functions and the vessel would sail next week.

Security and technical issues have been cleared to provide a hassle free journey to tourists.

The 'Jetliner' is a fast passenger ferry designed to accommodate 600 passengers.

The ship formerly used for humanitarian operations by the Sri Lanka Navy has now been converted to a glamorous venue for events.

"A voyage for the first time on Sri Lankan seas will be a novel experience to local and foreign tourists.

The maritime sector which had been out of bounds for tourists will be fully used to promote tourism", he said.

The vessel has undergone refurbishment to provide facilities for weddings, corporate functions, meetings, social gatherings and a host of other activities.

Amenities on board include banquet and conference halls, an observation salon and a deck area with a capacity for 250 guests. The 'Jetliner' could be hired on hourly, daily or for weekend cruises by individuals, tour operators and corporate clients.

The 'Jetliner' will be an added attraction to Sri Lanka which declared as one of the best places for tourism by the New York Times.

Tourist arrivals increased last year by two percent despite the global financial crisis. A 16 percent growth was recorded in December 2009 compared to the same month in the previous year.

The Sri Lanka Navy is in the process of appointing an agent to manage the vessel. The cost would depend on tour packages. (LF)

SriLankan celebrates the 'Written Word'

SriLankan Airlines joined the 'City of Galle' to celebrate the written word by flying in top writers, authors and poets from Europe and Asia in support of art, culture and literary tourism in Sri Lanka.

The fourth Galle Literary Festival showcased new and acclaimed literary personalities such as historians, poets, playwrights, novelists and biographers who provoked thought, dreams, laughter and debate for five consecutive days.

British Historian Anthony Beevor and wife, author Artemis Cooper met on arrival by a SriLankan airport staff.

Also this year, it introduced new dimensions to its usual program by presenting illustrations of Indian 'pulp' fiction and featuring several poets.

It included a program to guide children to the world of books and the expression of writing.

For the first time, Southern Provincial schools participated in seminars and workshops on writing as an extension to the outreach program conducted for local schools throughout the year.

"Galle Literary Festival has certainly come of age", said its founder, Geoffrey Dobbs, "and people look forward to this annual event that inspires writers and book-lovers in the region. However, we hope to keep a small and intimate atmosphere, within the walls and vicinity of this ideal location, the Galle Fort" he said.

Among the colourful line-up of writers flown in by SriLankan Airlines were the British historian Anthony Beever, author of the best-sellers - Berlin The Downfall and D-Day The Battle of Normandy and his wife Artemis Cooper, an author and biographer currently working on the biography of travel writer and war hero Patrick Leigh Fermor; Diran Adebayo, writer, novelist, TV documentarist, named by The Evening Standard of UK as one of London's most influential people; Gillian Slovo, London-based South African novelist; Louise Doughty, author of five novels and Judge of the Man Booker Prize, 2008, here with her latest novel 'Whatever You Love' ; Poet Jackie Kay, based in Manchester, was awarded an MBE (Member of the British Empire) in 2006; award-winning contemporary English Poet, Wendy Cope with her latest book Two Cures for Love; British Indian novelist Rana Dasgupta, who's book Solo is the work of the most unexpected and original Indian writer of his generation, affirms Salmon Rushdie; drens' books in India and Indian novelist, Amit Varma named by Business Week, as one of India's 50 Most Powerful People. SriLankan Airlines' is a pioneer sponsor of the Galle Literary Festival having been its festival carrier for four consecutive years.

Kumana opens for public

The Lahugala National Park and the Kumana Birds Sanctuary was reopened for the public last week. The two National parks were closed during the NE conflict. After the war ended in May last year economic activities in the two provinces started to recove while analysts expect a fast recovery in the tourism sector. The Ministry of Environment said that all facilities have been provided for the visitors.

Etihad adds more destinations

Etihad Airways which flies to over 55 destinations at present will add the cities of Narita and Nagoya to its portfolio of destinations in the coming months said Vice President Sales Adrian Parks announcing the resumption of flights to Sri Lanka, the 58th destination of Etihad operating four A320 flights per week between Abu Dhabi and Colombo.

He said that they are very pleased with the initial results as they enjoy a load of 60% at present and are confident of increasing it by 10-15 percent more within the next few months.

He said that when they ceased operations in 2007 the airline was enjoying a 70-80 percent load factor. Parks said that they had to pull out of Sri Lanka in September 2007 due to the then prevailing security situation which handicapped us from operating the scheduled flights.

Country Manager Sri Lanka and Maldives Kumar de Silva said that they plan to increase the tourist traffic from existing markets as well as new markets by promoting the Country together with the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority.

De Silva said that each flight is equipped with 20 business class seats and 120 economy class seats.

He said, that the flights have been scheduled to facilitate onward connections from a number of key destinations on the airlines network. He said that Etihad is confident that tourist traffic will increase in the coming months due to the ending of the 30 year conflict in the country.