Travel / Lifestyle

Breathtaking 18 hole Royal Colombo Golf Club

Sri Lanka has three golf courses each in a different climatic and geographic area, offering varying playing conditions.

The 18 hole Royal Colombo Golf Club which is over 100 years is a 20-minutes drive away from the city.

It stretches over 6,000 yards with well placed sand traps and water hazards and golfing is a pleasure at this course surrounded by green foliage and flowering trees.

A well appointed club house built in colonial style, open and airy is ideal to relax after a game of golf.

The Nuwara Eliya Golf Club in the heart of the hilly tea country has a salubrious climate and breathtaking scenery. The temperature is between 14 degrees C and 20 degrees C during the warmer months.

It drops to 7 degrees C from December to January. The court looks so challenging that a golfer usually prefers golfing to sightseeing.

The club house also over 100 years, reflects the old world charm of the buildings built by nostalgic British planters in the colonial era. Complete with a fire place beside the bar it exudes an aura of complete peace and relaxation.

The more recently opened 18 hole Victoria Golf Club at Rajawella Kandy is totally different from the other two golf courses. Bounded by the massive Victoria Dam on two sides and surrounded by beautiful scenery it offers an unforgettable golfing experience.

The clubs are well stocked with golfing equipment that can be hired or purchased. The Sri Lankan Amateur Championship is the second oldest amateur tournament in the history of the game.

(Courtesy: Travel Lanka)

Aitken Spence Travels celebrates 30 years of excellence

Aitken Spence Travels (ASTL), the premier Destination Management Company in Sri Lanka celebrated 30 years of excellence in tourism recently.

The celebration to commemorate three decades of service was preceded with a project at the Vajira Sri Rehabilitation Children's Home, where the entire staff participated in a 'shramadana' to paint the buildings and share a meal with the children.

Sixty-four employees with over 10 years of dedicated service were felicitated in the presence of their colleagues, partners and Directors of Aitken Spence and Co and joint venture partner TUI, the world's largest integrated travel Company.

Nine employees received special accolades for a service record of over 20 years - Gehan M. Perera, Managing Director, Ravi Subramaniam, Director General Manager and Dharni Soza, Director in charge of subsidiary Ace Travel who are the most senior employees with over 28 years of service.

Established in November 1976 with three employees Aitken Spence Travels today is one of the foremost Destination Management Companies (DMCs) in Asia, representing more than 50 leading tour operator accounts worldwide.

Emirates Holidays lures travellers to Venice

Venice, a destination that every travel enthusiast aspires to visit at least once, has been made even more attractive by a special travel-plus-accommodation offer from Emirates Holidays, the tour operating arm of the Dubai-based international airline.

Travellers from Colombo can now spend three nights in the city of love by purchasing packages for two people with air fares, fuel surcharges, room taxes and service charges included.

A choice of eight hotels ranging from three to five-star is on offer through Emirates Holidays in Colombo, providing options to suit many budgets. Extensions from Venice to Verona and the scenic Lake Garda are also available.

"These special packages are the result of a great introductory fare in celebration of Emirates' launch of services to Venice on July 1 and the ability of Emirates Holidays to get unbeatable rates from top-notch hotels," said Emirates' Sales Manager in Sri Lanka, Devika Ellepola.

The special packages are available to passengers who travel exclusively on Emirates and may even be utilised while travelling onwards to another destination in Europe, she said.

The price includes return air tickets for two with fuel surcharges, accommodation on a bed and breakfast basis for two in standard double rooms, room taxes and service charges. The introductory air fare component of the package is valid till October 31 this year.

SriLankan Foreign Carrier of the Year for SA again

SriLankan Airlines was named Foreign Carrier of the Year for South Asia for the second successive year at the recent KLIA Awards 2006 in Kuala Lumpur.

CEO of SriLankan Peter Hill, said: "We at SriLankan are very pleased to add the KLIA Award to our list of accolades. It is always an honour to receive recognition as being among the finest in the global air transport industry."

Malaysia Airlines won the title of Carrier of the Year, while other regional awards went to Singapore Airlines (Southeast Asia), Cathay Pacific (Northeast Asia), KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (Europe) and SriLankan's strategic partner Emirates Airline (Middle East).

The KLIA Awards are presented by Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhard, which operates Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), recently named the World's Best Airport in the 15-25 million passengers category.

Awards are presented to passenger airlines, cargo airlines, low cost airlines, food and beverage outlets and retail outlets which operate at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Airlines are judged on the number of passengers carried to and from Kuala Lumpur, strong growth, good sales performance, good sales presentation, international recognition and service performance.

The awards were presented by Malaysia's Minister of Transport, Y. B. Dato' Sri Chan Kong Choy, at a ceremony at the Pan Pacific Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

SriLankan Airlines' Country Manager for Malaysia Lalith de Silva, who received the award on behalf of the airline, said: "We are very proud to receive this award again as it recognises SriLankan as one of the best performing and most preferred airlines operating out of KLIA.

We are very pleased that we have once again caught the attention of Malaysian passengers and will strive to provide even better service this year."