TRAVEL

Lanka promoted as tourist destination in Spain

Sri Lanka will be promoted in Spain as a potential destination for tourism, said Consultant, Centro Superior de Hosteleria de Galicia (CSHG), the Higher School of Hotel Management of Galicia, Spain, Marcos Tilve Rodriguez.

He told the media that Sri Lanka has plenty to offer to tourism due to its natural beauty, bio diversity and hospitality. Spanish tourists would be thrilled to tour Sri Lanka.

The number of Spanish visitors to Sri Lanka has been low due to the adverse publicity and lack of promotion. Germany, Italy and UK are key Western markets of Sri Lanka.

The Spanish government through the CSHG has been funding the Koggala and Bandarawela Hotel Schools since 2007.

The US$ 300,000 project, a partnership with the Sri Lanka Institute of Hotel Management (SLITHM) to develop skills of hotel sector employees and promote the leisure tourism in Sri Lanka will conclude tomorrow.

The CSHG in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program has been working on projects in the Southern and Uva provinces with funds from the Spanish government.

Rodriguez said the South of Sri Lanka was selected for the project as the tourism in the region suffered a major setback due to the tsunami.

The small and medium sector hotels in the South were the worst affected by the battle against terrorism. Many hotels could not survive due to the sharp drop in the number of guests.

“The hotel sector in the South has revived and tourism has renounced”, he said.

Tourist arrivals recorded a 30 percent growth during the first three months of this year which is a marked increase compared to the last year.

The lack of trained staff, poor road network and shortage of hotel rooms are key issues to be addressed to if the country is to make full use of its global image for tourism.

LF

Russels Tea opens reception hall

Russels Tea recently invested Rs. 10 million to refurbish its reception hall in Borella to cater to a new market.

Company Managing Director Russel Perera who had been in the tea service and catering service for 22 years said that the new concept is to provide their service for the poor creating a new market with five star menu at an affordable price.

This service will be provided only to low income earners in the area and the employees of the company.

The unique feature of this Reception Hall is the lowest budget package for wedding couples.

The wedding package includes buffet lunch/dinner with DJ Music, fully equipped complimentary room for the wedded couple and the following day breakfast and lunch and a vehicle for the wedding couple.

EarthCheck silver certification for Heritance Kandalama

The environmental practices of Heritance Kandalama have been recognised by EarthCheck; the world’s leading sustainable travel and tourism certification organisation in line with the Green Globe Company standard for Travel and Tourism.

Heritance Kandalama was first certified by Green Globe in 1999 and was the first hotel in Asia to be Green Globe certified based on the agenda 21 principles for sustainable development endorsed by 182 Heads of State at the United Nations Rio De Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992.

Heritance Kandalama has now achieved Silver certification under the revised Green Globe Company standards for Travel and Tourism.

The EarthCheck Program is widely regarded as the world’s most scientifically rigorous, and is focused on maximising operational efficiencies to minimise CO2 emissions, while supporting host communities.

It looks at key environmental indicators such as energy and water consumption, total waste production as well as community commitment, to determine the level of performance.

Only those companies that can demonstrate operational practices that adhere to the highest environmental standards receive the much-coveted Silver Certification. ‘We are delighted to be awarded the EarthCheck Silver Certification for Environmental Practices.

Winning this award attests to our stance on sustainability and reinforces our commitment towards reducing energy consumption which will help us reduce our carbon footprint’, said Malin Hapugoda, Managing Director, Aitken Spence Hotels.

Prior to achieving certification, Heritance Kandalama successfully benchmarked its operations using the EarthCheck tool.

This involved the organisation submitting a year’s worth of operational data, and having it compared to that of other organisations that are similar in kind.

“The ability to provide the world’s finest green hotel experiences is made tangible by the accolades won by Heritance Kandalama.

Dankotuwa goes for domestic sales

With the resurgence of tourism and the increase in the ‘dining out’ culture, Dankotuwa Porcelain products are being much sought after in the Hotel Catering and Restaurant (HOCARE) sector.

Dankotuwa Porcelain PLC is now strategically focusing more on this sector in the domestic market after signing a supplementary agreement with the BOI which allows them to exceed 20% of domestic sales in any year provided that the five year average remains at 20%.

Even during last year when many industries reported lower sales because of the recession, and Dankotuwa itself reported a 30% drop in exports, its domestic sales maintained the same turnover.

With the current low value of the Euro most of our European orders are at a loss, and therefore we have decided to focus more on domestic sales said Chairman of Dankotuwa, Sunil G. Wijesinha.

He said that when the Euro came down from Rs. 170 we had to drop some low margin customers who refused to give price increases, and struggled hard to get better prices from new designs, and now it is not possible to get further price increases, because Bangladesh which is now producing a similar quality of porcelain has much lower prices, benefiting from low labour and energy costs. European exports amounts to about 60 % of its total exports.

Dankotuwa is also eagerly awaiting the outcome of the GSP+ negotiations, claiming that without GSP+ they will lose even more to Bangladesh which has duty free access to Europe without any conditions, by being a Least Developed Country (LDC). There is more interest from hotels, hospitals and restaurants in Sri Lanka said Senior Manager Business Development Domestic Mangala Dissanayaka, adding that they have been able to supply to many hotels which hitherto did not source from Dankotuwa.

Many Maldivian hotels are also sourced directly from Dankotuwa’s Colombo showrooms.