Business Travel

Hilfswerk Austria funds Aitken Spence hotel school complex

by Surekha Galagoda

The Aitken Spence School of Hospitality Complex funded by Austrian Development Cooperation and Wir bauen Leben (We build lives) and implemented by Hilfswerk Austria was opened in Ahungalla on Tuesday.

Austrian Development Cooperation invested Euros 135,000 on the buildings and equipment.

The new hotel school complex will be managed by Aitken Spence Hotel Managements (Pvt) Ltd through their charitable trust Spence Evolution Charitable Trust.

Managing Director Hilfswerk Austria Dr. Heidi Burkhart said that Hilfswerk lays a lot of emphasis on training, which is one of their strong pillars. "We came to Sri Lanka in March 2005 after the tsunami and started rehabilitation work", she said.

"As the hospitality industry was developing globally and Sri Lanka was already involved in the industry we looked for sustainable long lasting partnerships to share our expertise and develop the industry so that it will help create more job opportunities for Sri Lankans. She assured that they would continue to support the hotel school in the future as well."

Chairman Sri Lanka Tourism Authority Renton De Alwis said at present only 40% of the people engaged in the tourism industry are functioning with a licence. But under the new Act everybody engaged in the tourism industry should have a licence.

Therefore we have devised a method to select two persons from each district to provide training and get them to train others in the district.

He said, "Through tourist guides we get to know the problems at the tourist sites and now we are trying to get together with the Rotary clubs in Sri Lanka and solve problems.

Already three clubs in Kandy have joined hands with us. There are 56 clubs and if we all get together we can help each other to project a positive image of the country, said De Alwis.

Hilfswerk Country Manager Sri Lanka, Mangala David said that they started discussions with Aitken Spence in 2005 and construction work commenced last year.

Now we are also engaged in a tourism project involving Nepal and Sri Lanka to develop the small tourist hotels in the two countries. Hilfswerk is spread across four continents with 25 offices worldwide and it is an NGO.

Group Training Manager, Amal Nanayakkara said that the school would be built in three phases. The first phase, which includes two sets of classrooms have been completed. The second and third stages will include state of the art training kitchen, restaurant and residential accommodation for students and lecturers.

The course syllabus of the school is based on the craft level training module of the Ceylon Hotel School and the duration is three months.

Once it is completed they will have to undergo nine months of practical training at one of the Aitken Spence Hotels. After two years of practical training in the hotels through its foreign employment office Aitken Spence Resources (Pvt) Ltd they will be given jobs in the Middle East and could earn around US$ 300.

At present the entry requirements are GCE (Ordinary Level) examination, between 17-23 years pleasant personality and with a sports background. He said that plans are under way to introduce supervisory development courses for students who have passed the GCE (Advanced Level) examination.

Managing Director Aitken Spence Hotels Mangements (Pvt) ltd, Malin Hapugoda said it is a dream come true, as we have been given the opportunity by Hilfswerk Austria to manage the purpose built school.

He said that Aitken Spence over the past 30 years have trained a large number of people and some who started as trainees have risen to the position of managers.

Hapugoda said that according to a study done 35,000-40,000 job opportunities in the hospitality sector will be opened within the next 3-4 years in the Middle East. Therefore the youth who are undergoing training will have many job opportunities in the future.

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SriLankan scores a century in India

SriLankan Airlines was the first foreign airline to operate one hundred flights per week to India.

The airline is celebrating this achievement by offering 1,100 return tickets between Colombo and its 11 Indian destinations. This offer is exclusively for travellers in India and Sri Lanka who book through the airline's website www.srilankan.aero.

Sri Lanka's National Carrier reached the important milestone when it added another weekly flight to its existing services to Trichy on November 27. CEO of SriLankan, Peter Hill said: "SriLankan Airlines is extremely proud to be the first foreign carrier in history to fly one hundred times a week to India. We recognised very early the important role that India plays in this part of the world, and we have been steadily increasing the number of flights, and the cities that we serve."

Coimbatore became SriLankan's 11th destination in India on October 22. It operates two flights a day to Chennai and Mumbai, and daily or more frequent flights to New Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Trichy, Trivandrum, Kochi, and Calicut. There are four flights to Coimbatore, and three to Goa.

Head of Worldwide Passenger Sales, Manoj Gunawardena said: "We offer Indian travellers rapid connections via Colombo to our 54 destinations in 28 countries. Cities such as Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and London, are very popular with our Indian passengers."

Lanka, Iran to develop air travel sector

Minister of Tourism Milinda Moragoda on his recent visit to Iran met Chairman and Managing Director of Iran Air, Saeid Hesami and discussed several areas for cooperation.

A framework to develop the air travel sector was discussed in detail. Saeid pledged his support to set up an information centre in Colombo for destination marketing.

Minister Moragoda was accompanied by Sri Lanka's Ambassador in Iran M. M. Suher, Finance Secretary, Dr. P. B. Jayasundera and Chairman, Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management G. S. M. Palihakkara.

"Iranian Airways" was established in May 1944 and commenced its first passenger flight after the World War II from Tehran to the Holy City of Mashhad. Within 17 years (1945-1962) this airline developed into a major domestic Route with a few international flights per week.

In 1954 another private airline as "Pars Airways" was established. Initially "Pars Airways" only undertook freight services to Europe.

Tea Factory among world's top 5 Factory Hotels

Raising the profile of Sri Lanka's tourism industry, the London based The Independent recently released its review of the top five factory hotels in the world with Sri Lanka's first theme hotel, The Tea Factory being selected as one of them. The other four hotels are in Spain, Greece, Italy and Australia.

Situated 6800 feet above sea level, the magnificent Tea Factory is part of Aitken Spence Hotels. The Tea Factory lies, alone and unique, on the slopes of the tea plantations at Kandapola, high above the Nuwara Eliya town.

Surrounded by picturesque Hethersett Estate, the imposing Tea Factory Hotel once produced some of the finest pure Ceylon tea in the world. Built during the British Raj in the 1930s, it was later transformed into a luxury hotel.

This coveted acknowledgment comes soon after Tea Factory's recognition as one of the top 100 places to stay in the world, according to The Sunday Times, one of Britain's premier newspapers, in their September 2007 issue of 'Travel' Magazine.