Travel

Tourism:

Annual earnings to surpass $ 500 m

Indian visitors topped the arrival list up to July this year with 64,223, while UK with 59,721 arrivals were a close second. Germany (25,040), the Middle East (20,627) and France (17,218) account for the other major share, said senior tourism professional, and immediate past-President of the Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka, Srilal Miththapala.

He said that of the South Asian segment, India, as expected, accounts for 70 percent of the arrivals confirming that it is fast becoming an important market for Sri Lanka. The market mix is still heavily weighted towards Western Europe, which amounts to almost 40 percent of the entire market share (with UK accounting to about 45 percent of this segment), confirming that Sri Lanka is still predominantly dependant on the Western tourist.

However South Asia is beginning to carve out a major share of almost 26 percent of the total market.

The forex earnings for Q1 also show a healthy increase of 69 percent YOY and this is a direct indication of higher yields since last minute discounting of hotel rates due to the war situation did not occur this year while prevailing contracted rates were not diluted.

This directly translates into about USD 870 per tourist spend, and assuming an average stay of ten days per tourist, it is an approximate average of USD 87 spend per day per tourist, which is an improvement from the current USD 80.

These auger well for the future and with a higher post war rate structure expected after November this year, annual earning should surpass USD 500 M.

* The annual tourism earnings for 2010 will regain some of the lost ground, after falling to be the 6th largest forex earner for the country, down from its original position of 4th a few years back.

Miththapala said that the immediate post war period gave rise to a dramatic increase in arrivals, confirming the fact that the tourism industry is a front end industry first to fall heavily when there are problems, and the first to recover once problems are over.

In spite of huge losses until around June 2009, the industry improved considerably, to end 2009 showing a net 2 percent increase in arrivals.

The trend continued in 2010, with each month showing increases of over 30 percent compared to 2009. By the end of July, there is an increase of close upon 49 percent arrivals YOY.

The comparison is against one of the worst periods for tourism during early 2009 when the war was at a peak, but however by July last year, the recovery was well on its way, and July 2010 shows a very healthy 50 percent growth compared to July 2009- indicating that this boom we see, appears to be very real, he said. SG

SL hotel chains pump in $5b into new projects

Several hotel giants are undertaking expansion, refurbishment and development. This is in the wake of increased demand for hotel rooms post conflict resolution. The projected inbound tourism figures are at 2.5 million by 2016.

John Keells Holdings (JKH) invested 400 million LKR to upgrade and rebrand Club Oceanic to Chaaya Blu in Trincomalee.

The group has currently undertaken a Rs 2 billion investment on a new 4 star 190-room hotel in the Beruwela area. Coral Gardens in Hikkaduwa, Bentota Beach and Habarana Lodge are all being given a facelift with the total renovation costing upto Rs 1.6 billion. The chain also has lands in Ahungalla, Weerawila and Nilaweli, upon which new properties are planned.

The development of Amaya Resorts and Spas is to be carried out in four stages. First is to develop the existing properties which is estimated at USD 10 million. The next would be to develop the available land bank. The identified areas are - Wadduwa at a cost of USD 15 million, Kalpitiya at a cost of USD 15 million, Mirissa at a cost of USD 30 million, and Negombo at USD 30 million. The total investment that is projected for this 2nd stage of development is approximately USD 90 million.

Jetwing is all set to spend 700 million on rebranding and refurbishing Blue Oceanic as Jetwing Blue.

Besides this the chain will spend approximately Rs. 500 million at Sea Shells which will be converted to Jetwing Sea and Rs. 400 million will be spent at Blue Lagoon. Jetwing Blue and Jetwing Sea are slated to open doors for business in December.

"Given the rapid growth of tourism in Sri Lanka, Jetwing seeks to refurbish its current properties and expand its room stock through new ventures.

In respect of refurbishment, Jetwing has made a conscious effort to upgrade all its properties gradually to 4-5 star (small luxury) properties. Already the Jetwing Blue and Jetwing Sea are underway.

As regards new hotel ventures, Jetwing has planned to occupy 'white spots', by locating and developing new similar standard hotels in the East Coast, Yala, Kandy, Jaffna and Colombo, while offering to manage several other properties in the island", states Chairman Jetwing Group, Hiran Cooray

Tourist arrivals have increased to nearly a staggering 48 percent for the month alone when compared with June 2009.

The first half of 2010 registered a 48.4 percent increase in inbound tourism when compared to the same period in 2009.

World Spice Food Festival 2010 sets benchmark

The World Spice Food Festival 2010 organised for the fifth consecutive year by Sri Lanka Tourism with HSBC as the principal sponsor, marked the successful completion of yet another extravagant event.

The pinnacle of the event was the 'Hawkers Street' food fiesta attracting over 30,000 visitors to Green Path, which was colourfully decorated and with live entertainment, to add to the festive atmosphere.

Food Stalls were teaming with foreign tourists and Sri Lankans who thronged to savour a variety of delectable cuisines catered by 16 of the best hotels and restaurants in Colombo and 11 international master chefs from India, South Africa, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Italy, Vietnam, Egypt, Singapore, China, Korea, Thailand and Sri Lanka.

Speaking on the success of the event, Director General - Sri Lanka Tourism S. Kalaiselvam said, "The World Spice Food Festival was a tremendous success with experts from the culinary fraternity and hospitality industry joining hands to combine their culinary skills in preparing some of the finest cuisines from the South Asian continent.

The event also helped promote Sri Lanka as a country that celebrates and welcomes diverse cultures with the offering of a variety of international cuisines."

The World Spice Food Festival was initiated in 2005 as an annual event based on Sri Lanka's reputation of being an island abundant in spices, to create more dining options for visitors to the country, while providing an opportunity for the Sri Lankan culinary fraternity to exchange culinary know-how with specialty chefs from around the world.

Oman Air adds Kathmandu to its network

Oman Air, the National Carrier of the Sultanate of Oman, announced the commencement of services between Muscat, the Omani capital and Kathmandu, from 2nd September. Kathmandu is the 40th destination in the Oman Air network and will be operated with a B737-700 aircraft offering Business and Economy Class cabins.

CEO Oman Air Peter Hill said "Oman Air is very happy to add the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu to its network. Kathmandu is a much awaited destination and Oman Air would like to extend its customers in the region the opportunity to experience one of the most naturally beautiful landscapes in the world. In addition to the strong demand for flights from Nepalese nationals who work in Oman and further afield, we expect to see significant corporate and leisure traffic, which is important to the economic development of Nepal. Oman Air is pleased to support this growth with its new services."