TRAVEL

Mixed views on resumption of seaplanes

by Lalin FERNANDOPULLE

The tourism industry makes a vital contribution to the country’s economy, but unforseen developments could result in environmental and social catastrophe.

Tourism experts said that floatplane services are essential to promote tourism and provide an efficient mode of domestic transportation in the country.

Floatplanes are an effective mode of domestic transportation across the world. Saving of time, fuel and the hassle on roads have made air taxies popular modes of transportation.

Environmentalists said the recommencing of operation of seaplanes in lagoons without adequate assessment of its impact on the environment could cause damage to marine life and fisheries sectors.

The first seaplane flight is scheduled for December 18. Seaplanes will be operative in the Negombo Lagoon, Parakrama Samudra, Tisawewa, Victoria Lake and Beira Lake.

National Convenor, Fisheries Solidarity Movement, Negombo and Secretary World Forum of Fisher People, Herman Kumara said the operation of seaplanes will affect marine life and disrupt fishing in the Negombo Lagoon which provides livelihood to several families in the area.

A seaplane ready to take off

The Negombo Lagoon provides direct livelihood to over 5,000 families of around 35 villages in the area. Around 3,500 families depend on the lagoon for indirect livelihoods (such as fish vendors, fish collectors, repairing centres, equipment sales centres).

“Those affected are subsistence fishers and their only source of income is fishing. An adverse impact on the lagoon affects the life and livelihood of those who depend on it”, Kumara said.

The annual income from the lagoon exceeds Rs. 150 million, according to fisheries sources.

The Negombo Lagoon and Muthurajawela has been declared as an important wetland in Asia.

“The discharge of fuel, sound pollution and accidents on water will disrupt the fishery and serenity in the area”, the convenor said.

Aruna Roshantha of the Eksath Dheewara Samithiya, Pitipana said restrictions on fishing for the operation of seaplanes would result in the loss of occupation of the small scale fisherfolk in the area.

Lagoon fishing has been a traditional occupation of many families in Negombo, a fisheries hub in the country. Fishing is the primary source of income of the area.

“The sea and the lagoon are sacred to our people and we would do our best to protect it from outside influence”, Roshantha said.

The Negombo Lagoon

A spokesman for SriLankan Airlines said it has been proved that floatplanes do not cause environmental damage as they do not emit pollutants into the water.

“After a full evaluation of the operation, including issues raised by the fishing sector necessary certifications have been obtained from the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) and the Civil Aviation Authority to commence operation of flights”, he said.

SriLankan Airlines has agreed to carry out the operation according to the conditions laid down by the CEA.

The Airline spokesman said the flights will greatly enhance the domestic transportation network for tourists and others who do not want to commute for long hours on motorways.

The air taxi service which operated for three years before it was suspended in June 2007, operated 3,000 flights and carried over 17,000 passengers across ten domestic points.

The floatplanes have been leased from a Canadian company.

Chairman Srilankan Tourism Development Authority, Dr. Nalaka Godahewa said domestic air services are essential to develop an effective mode of transportation for tourism.

“Domestic flights are needed due to save time and avoid the hassle on roads. Air taxi service is a good solution to the poor transportation network in the country”, he said.

The Government has embarked on a mega tourism development plan to attract 2.5m tourists by 2016 and enhance revenue to the country.

Tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors recording a month-on month growth in arrivals which is expected to surpass 600,000 visitors to the country this year. A spokesman for the Sirikurusa Lagoon Fishermen Union’s said the operation of seaplanes at the Negombo Lagoon will have adverse consequences on the environment and agriculture sector.

Fishing in the lagoon

“Disturbance to breeding of fish, destruction to ‘kadol’ plants and sound pollution are some of the harmful effects of the seaplane operations”, he said.

Seaplanes will be operated from ‘Madabokka’, a fertile area for the breeding of fish adjacent to the Airport Garden Hotel. Fishermen in the area said the operation of seaplanes will affect the marine eco-system.

The Negombo Lagoon is a large estuary fed by a number of small rivers and a canal. The lagoon is linked to the sea by a narrow channel to the north, near the Negombo town.

The lagoon is surrounded by a densely populated region containing rice and coconut cultivation and grassland.

The lagoon has extensive mangrove swamps and attracts a large number of water birds including cormorants, herons, egrets, gulls, terns and shorebirds.

The Ministry of Ports and Aviation has purchased two seaplanes from Canada this year to boost tourism in the country.

Emirates and HSBC offer zero interest instalment scheme for air travel

Travelling with Emirates from Colombo to any of the 105 destinations on six continents has become affordable for holders of credit cards issued by the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC).

Effective immediately, all HSBC Premier, Platinum, Gold and Classic cardholders may purchase air tickets from Emirates and make payments over three, six, nine or twelve months at zero interest, the airline has announced.

The offer is valid for tickets purchased up to 31st December 2010, for all classes of travel and to any destination on the Emirates global network. The HSBC zero interest facility is available to customers purchasing their tickets on-line, at the Emirates Colombo city office counters or at four participating travel agents.

“This facility provides a great opportunity for leisure travellers in particular. It could even be utilised for travel in 2011, provided tickets are purchased before the promotion ends,” said Emirates Sales Manager in Sri Lanka Devika Ellepola.

All travel on Emirates will earn passengers Skywards Miles from the airline’s frequent flyer program. Emirates also offer passengers a generous baggage allowance of 30kg, 40kg and 50kg respectively on Economy, Business and First Class.

The winner of more than 400 major international awards, Emirates operates 21 services a week between Colombo and Dubai, and daily flights to Singapore, making a total of 28 flights a week to and from Sri Lanka.

British Airways head lashes out at ‘redundant’

US security demands - CNN

British airlines should stop “kowtowing” to American security demands like making passengers take off their shoes and remove laptops from carry-on bags, the chairman of British Airways argued at an industry conference.

Some security checks required by the Americans are “completely redundant,” Martin Broughton said at the UK Airport Operators conference in London, BA confirmed to CNN. He also criticized the United States for demanding tighter security on inbound international flights than they do for U.S. domestic travel.

“America does not do internally a lot of the things they demand that we do,” he said. “We shouldn’t stand for that. We should say, ‘We’ll only do things which we consider to be essential and that you Americans also consider essential.’ “We all know there’s quite a number of elements in the security program which are completely redundant and they should be sorted out,” he said.

A.U.S. government security official dismissed Broughton’s comments.

“These off-the-cuff comments by an individual representing a private, for-profit entity in no way reflect the close working relationship between the U.S. and the U.K. and are not indicative of the cooperative security efforts enjoyed by our two nations,” the official said. “These comments are simply out of touch with current intelligence-driven security policies.” But other industry executives were quick to support the British Airways executive.

“There will no doubt be widespread agreement,” said the head of the Board of Airline Representatives in the United Kingdom.

Courtesy CNN

Heritance Kandalama wins Asia’s Responsible Tourism Award

Heritance Kandalama won Asia’s Responsible Tourism Award in the large hotel category at the ITB Asia tourism trade show held at the Suntec City Convention Centre, Singapore on October 21.

General Manager, Heritance Kandalama Jeevaka Weerakone with the award

Asia’s Responsible Tourism Awards is organised by Wild Asia and is the only tourism award of its kind in Asia.

This annual award aims to recognise the accommodation sector and tour operators in Asia who are making a difference to sustainable tourism.

The awards showcase exemplary resorts, hotels and tour operators committed to environmentally and socially responsible practices. This year’s awards attracted a larger and more diverse number of participants, from India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Thailand, Cambodia, China, the Philippines and Indonesia. The judges select two finalists for each category based on criteria such as sense of place, whether tourists understand their destinations in terms of the cultural and ecological context; whether the responsible tourism efforts are long-term; involvement of guests, how much the operators involve their guests in their responsible tourism practices; how much sustainability is part of the day-to-day operations and how the operators strive to improve their responsible tourism efforts continuously.

General Manager, Heritance Kandalama Jeevaka Weerakone who accepted the award said that “It is a great honour to receive this award.

We will continually strive to make Heritance Kandalama an example for Sri Lanka and the world, developing it into a model for responsible tourism.”

According to the judges, Heritance Kandalama’s all-round commitment and practices gave it the edge over Malaysia’s Frangipani Resort, Langkawi, placed second in the same category.

Managing Director of Aitken Spence Hotels Malin Hapugoda said “Heritance Kandalama is well-known for its green architecture and eco tourism practices which have been nurtured since inception of the hotel in 1994.

The hotel has a green philosophy that covers essential responsible tourism practices such as providing benefits to local communities, protecting and conserving natural environment and mitigating climate change.”

Microsoft Dynamics CRM cited as a leader

Microsoft recently announced that Microsoft Dynamics CRM has earned recognition from Forrester Research Inc., a leading independent research firm, as a Leader in The Forrester Wave: CRM Suites for Midsized Organisations, Q2 2010 (June 2010) and The Forrester Wave: CRM Suites for Large Organisations, Q2 2010 (June 2010) reports. According to Forrester, vendors in the Leader category have both a strong product and strategy.

“Leaders of midsized and large organisations have the ability to execute their vision through products and services and demonstrate solid business results in the form of revenue and earnings by using this recognised CRM,” said SMS&P Director, Microsoft Sri Lanka Pubudu Basnayake. “The latest version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, to be released soon, offers even more flexibility to enhance organisational structures and become more functional.”

The Forrester Wave Reports evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of 19 CRM suite solutions against 516 criteria reflecting the requirements of midsized organisations and 18 CRM solutions for large organisations against 516 criteria reflecting the requirements of large organisations.

These criteria included, among other factors, offering a multifunctional CRM application suite, a solution targeted to multiple industries, and product now in general release and in wide use by customers.

Forrester Research found that large and midsized organisations have lots of technology options to sift through. In their evaluation of multiple CRM solutions, Microsoft Dynamics CRM was one of the solutions the research firm gave high marks to for ease of use and relatively fast deployment times.

The report further states, “Microsoft owns a SaaS solution - Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online - and buyers value the solution’s native integration with Outlook and being able to work within the familiar Microsoft technology stack. Buyers also like Microsoft Dynamics CRM’s usability, lower price and its quick time to value compared with traditional CRM applications.”

“It is an honour to be recognised as a leader in the CRM industry that is helping customers seize new opportunities and grow their business,” said General Manager, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Brad Wilson.

“We deliver innovation and value to companies around the world through our focus on end-user productivity, business process flexibility and agility and the ability of our customers to leverage public and private cloud deployment models.”

Hospitality and Tourism Management courses

The Hospitality Faculty of Aquninas University College will commence Level Three of Organisation for Tourism and Hospitality Management (OTHM) course next month.

OTHM is one of the fast expanding British professional bodies with over 130 listed training centres and colleges worldwide. Rector, Aquinas University College, Rev. Fr. Placidus De Silva said hospitality sector offers a wide scope for those keen to excel in the industry.

He said students who succeed in examinations of respective levels will be awarded the OTHM certificate, the London College of Dublin affiliated certificate and Aquinas University College certificate.

Lecturers for the courses will be internationally reputed hoteliers.

LF