Travel

Growth in leisure sector revenue

The Leisure sector revenues of companies engaged in the hotel sector have increased for the quarter under review on the back of the tourism boom in post conflict Sri Lanka.

There was an increase in tourist arrivals and all hotels have recorded increased occupancy.

Most hotels are expanding and refurbishing their properties to cater to the coming winter season.

Tourists selecting handicrafts

According to the first quarter results of the JKH Group, Cinnamon Lodge, Habarana which was non-operational in the first quarter has now been re-opened and will be re-launched as a five star resort in November. Bentota Beach Hotel, which is under a soft refurbishment program, will operate without its full complement of rooms until September 2010. Construction of a 200-room hotel in Beruwala on the 10- acre beach front site owned by the Group will commence this month.

The 150-room property in Hikkaduwa, Coral Gardens, has been closed for a complete refurbishment and is scheduled to re-open under the Chaaya brand for Winter 2011/12.

The newly refurbished Chaaya Blu and the Courtyard Wing of the Cinnamon Grand were both launched in May. The Chaaya Lagoon Hakuraa Huraa in the Maldives closed in May 2010 for refurbishment and is expected to be re-opened in September.

CEO Hemas holdings said that the leisure sector revenue have increased by 68 percent for the quarter under review on the back of the tourism boom in post-war Sri Lanka.

Tourist arrivals have increased by 46 percent year-on-year for the quarter under review, and the hotel industry is enjoying increased room rates and occupancies.

In view of the bright prospects, Hemas Holdings has embarked on an upgrading and repositioning plan for existing resorts and a development plan to add new resorts to their portfolio.

At Club Hotel Dolphin, a Rs 500m refurbishment project, has already begun which is expect to be completed by September.

During the quarter, Serendib Hotels PLC divested part of its shareholding in Hotel Sigiriya PLC, for the purpose of funding some of its development projects.

Serendib aviation business, which was modest last year, bounced back with an 18 percent growth in revenues and a 28 percent growth in profits.

There has been a healthy increase in passenger volumes, and Serendib expects the market to remain steady in the coming months.

The maritime business too has seen a commendable growth in revenue and profits, with the ship agency business performing well above expectations.

SriLankan Best South Asian Airline for fifth year

SriLankan Airlines was named the Best Airline Operator from South Asia for the fifth consecutive year at the annual KLIA Awards in Kuala Lumpur.

The KLIA Awards are presented by Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhard to honour all partners operating at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), including airlines (passenger, low cost and cargo), food and beverage outlets, and retail businesses.

Airlines are judged on criteria which include the number of passengers carried to and from Kuala Lumpur and service performance.

SriLankan's Head of Worldwide Sales Mohamed Fazeel said "SriLankan Airlines has won the award since the inception of the KLIA Awards five years ago. We consider it a great honour since Kuala Lumpur International Airport has been recognised as one of the finest airports in the world.

Malaysia is an important destination in our route network, to which we intend continuously increasing frequencies over the next several years. SriLankan stands out for its high quality of service and is preferred by large numbers of travellers, despite the ever-increasing number of flights to Kuala Lumpur by other airlines," said Fazeel.

Tourism and business travel between Malaysia and Sri Lanka has been booming over the last 12 months.

SriLankan links many cities in India with Kuala Lumpur via Colombo.

In addition, its leisure arm SriLankan Holidays also works in partnership with Malaysia's tourism authority to promote Kuala Lumpur as a destination.

SriLankan presently operates 10 flights per week between Kuala Lumpur and Colombo.

SriLankan and Malaysia Airlines work closely to support each other and recently strengthened their mutual code-share partnerships which allow passengers of either airline to fly on a large number of the other airline's flights.

Emirates daily to Male

Emirates will add three extra Male flights, increasing frequencies between the capital and Colombo, a popular destination for Maldivians and tourists visiting the archipelago. The changes, effective August 1, will result in Emirates operating daily flights between Male and Colombo and increasing flights from Colombo to Male from four to five per week. The additional flights take Emirates' services to the Maldives to 19 a week, making the award-winning Dubai-based airline one of the most active international carriers serving the country. Senior Vice President - Commercial Operations West Asia & Indian Ocean Majid Al Mualla said "As tourism and economies revive in the region, there is increasing demand for seats on the Male-Colombo sector, and Emirates is happy to be in a position to respond quickly to the emerging demand.

Australians visit Sri Lanka

A group of over 60 Australian and Sri Lankan expatriates are in the country on a 20day tour.

The tour was organised by Patrick Loss from Sydney Australia who migrated to Australia in 1970 but still considers Sri Lanka his home. Loss said that it is always a great pleasure to step off an aircarrier at Katunayake with a group of visitors.

 The friendliness of the people as well as the service of the employees in all hotels is uncomparable and the country is 'paradise'. The tour itenary and promotion is being handled by Asian Exotica (Pvt) Ltd.

PATA gold for Sri Lanka Tourism

The revamped consumer travel brochures of Sri Lanka Tourism have been adjudged the PATA Gold Award winner for 2010.

The brochures were entered with the title 'Revamping Consumer Travel Brochures of Sri Lanka Tourism' and won in the Marketing Media - Consumer Travel Brochure category. This is the first time in Sri Lanka Tourism's history that it has achieved PATA Gold. The judges were impressed with the quality of the entry and with the overall high standard of entries submitted this year. Sri Lanka Tourism was competing with nearly 200 entries from 80 organisations and individuals worldwide.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a member association that works towards the responsible development of the Asia Pacific travel and tourism industry. In partnership with private and public sector members PATA enhances sustainable growth, value and quality of travel and tourism to, from and within the region. PATA organises the Gold Awards on an annual basis.

The award will be presented at the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel on Friday, September 17, at a glittering event that is expected to attract close to 500 participants. The brochures were designed by Phoenix O and M and the photographs were carefully selected by the staff at Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau. "We took a different approach after conducting research on competing destinations brochures. We decided to go with a picture led approach as the research clearly showed that most consumer brochures are used at a very early stage of the decision making process. Therefore these brochures act as an interest generator rather than documented information", stated Managing Director of Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Dileep Mudadeniya.

Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau has produced close to 12 new brochures which on various themes including nature & wildlife, beaches, festivals & events to name a few.