Travel
Community based tourism will boost industry
by Lalin Fernandopulle
By promoting community based tourism the local community could be
involved in providing services to tourists. The tourists who appreciate
the goodwill and hospitality of the locals will contribute to uplift the
welfare of the community, member of the National Council for Economic
Development (NCED), Hiran Cooray said.
Tourism in Sri Lanka became an organised industry with the
introduction of the Tourism Act in 1966. Concepts such as eco-tourism,
community based tourism and global tourism came into usage after the
1990s.
Today the tourism industry focuses on providing opportunities to
travellers to mingle with the local community and enjoy services offered
by people in the locality while contributing to their welfare,
Therefore, it is a two way process where the village and tourists
benefit by the mutual support extended to each other. There are
instances where tourists have funded social welfare projects such as
education, health and infrastructure development of rural communities,
Cooray said.
The other advantage is that when a hotel is built in a village, there
are employment opportunities for the people in the village. The hotel
will provide training programs for those who are keen to learn a trade
and make a decent living. Such a program will develop the
entrepreneurial skills of the rural masses and sustain their livelihood.
Cooray said "For instance tourists enjoy the catamaran rides
organised by fishermen in Negombo. If locals do not get involved in such
business activities they will resort to underhand activities such as
drug dealing, prostitution and paedophile activities.
Therefore, if community based tourism is not properly organised there
will be adverse effects. As a result, it is not only the tourism
industry that will suffer but also the country at large and the entire
travel community, Cooray said.
Sri Lanka Tourist Board Chairman, Udaya Nanayakkara said there should
be sustainable tourism to protect the culture, religion, customs and
traditions of the local community. There is no point in having big
numbers in tourist arrivals if there are no rules and regulations to
safeguard the local culture and the natural heritage of a country.
There are countries that have promoted tourism without proper
direction. Such countries have lost its cultural beauty, customs and
traditions by following western values, Nanayakkara said.
The SLTB is conducting educational and awareness programs for
conscientious people to value one's culture and benefit from tourism
instead of being influenced by unethical moral values.
President of the tourism cluster (NCED), Lal De Mel said the tourism
industry should promote community based tourism since it is beneficial
to the local community. The tourism cluster is keen to see that more
benefits are reaped by the local community with tourists involved in the
community activities.
To achieve this we need to develop the road network, infrastructure
facilities, human resource management and entrepreneurial skills. The
cooperation of the State and private sector is vital to develop the
tourism industry.
St. Andrews bags 35 awards

The flower garden in bloom at St. Andrews Hotel.
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St. Andrew's Hotel - a Jetwing Hotel won all three top prizes which
were awarded for the Flower Garden, Lawns and Fence and Hedges at the
annual Nuwara Eliya flower show and competition known as "April Blooms".
St. Andrew's bagged four trophies and thirty-one awards.
A spokesman for the hotel said the hotel takes special interest in
its landscape. Each seed is initially planted and specially treated at
the hotel nursery for 2 1/2 months.
Thereafter they are re-planted into the main garden where they are
taken care of. When taking a stroll around the garden, the guests are
able to experience a breathtaking aura of the fresh flower fragrance, he
said. The Hotel has a wonderful nature trail, which is set along a foot
patch that was constructed by the British and leads to a water catchment
up on a ridge.
This is provided free to the guests whereby they are accompanied by
the resident naturalist. In order to promote tourism, the hotel has
launched a program of habitat restoration and habitat creation to
produce a sanctuary for wildlife. This includes a Model Wetland Project
and a Dragon Fly Reserve.
St. Andrew's Hotel consists of 52 luxurious rooms, which sits 6,182
feet above sea level, cradled amidst the mist-covered mountains. This
stately Tudor style colonial mansion which is over 100 years still
preserves the charms of the colonial era with its typical "English Hill
Country" ambience.
Jetwing Hotels owns and manages 11 other properties in pristine
locations from the south to the west and also the hill capital.
They are: Beruwela: Tropical Villas, Wadduwa: The Blue Water, Galle:
Lighthouse Hotel and Spa, Yala: Yala Safari Game Lodge (opening 2007),
Negombo: The Beach, Ayurveda Pavilions, Blue Oceanic Beach Hotel,
Seashells Hotel, Sea Garden Hotel, Kandy: Hunas Falls Hotel, Sigiriya:
Vil Uyana (opening 2006).
Air Arabia flies to Jaipur
Connecting the UAE to its third new destination this month, Air
Arabia LLC, the first and only low-fares airline in the Middle East and
North Africa, made its first flight last week to Jaipur, Rajasthan,
India.
Air Arabia's Head of Sales, A. K. Nizar led a delegation of senior
officials to Jaipur.
Air Arabia's CEO Adel Ali said, "Jaipur is a unique destination with
great potential for tourism and customers across this region can now
experience a new holiday destination at great value fares.
We would like to thank the Indian Government and Civil Aviation
authorities for their support and cooperation of our expansion into
India and hope to add more destinations in India to offer more travel
opportunities between our two countries."
Air Arabia's Sri Lanka Country Head, Mayank Dhingra said, "Air Arabia
is the first international airline to fly to Jaipur from the Middle
East.
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