Business travel
 

First phase of SMAPs project concludes

by Surekha Galagoda

The first phase of the three-year project to develop the Small and Medium Accommodation Providers (SMAPs) in Sri Lanka and Nepal which was started in October concluded last week.

Funded by the European Commission, 175,000 Euros was invested on the project. it is commissioned and implemented by Hilfswerk Austria.

The objectives of this project are to enhance the selling capabilities of the small and medium scale accommodation providers and improving the product and service standards in these establishments, said Country Manager Hilfswerk Austria, David Mangala.

Under this project 40 Sri Lankans and 40 Nepali small scale establishments will be supported to develop their product and service standards to cater to tourists from around the world.

He said that they had the first regional meeting from November 11-15 with all stakeholders of the program which included the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority and Hotel School representing Sri Lanka and the Hotel Association Nepal and International School of Tourism Nepal represented Nepal. In addition there were representatives from Hilfswerk Austria and Hilfswerk Sri Lanka.

Mangala said that they have already completed the awareness campaigns in Nepal while they had completed the awareness campaign in Sri Lanka on January 24.

He said that under the pilot project accommodation providers in the areas of Negombo and the Southern stretch which includes Bentota, Beruwela, Hikkaduwa, Unawatuna and Tangalle were selected for the project.

The selection criteria was that each place of accommodation should be less than 20 rooms and employ less than 20 persons. Most importantly we will not be supporting any villa or boutique type of accommodation, said Mangala.

Project Manager Tourism Hilfswerk Austria Sandamala Wickremaratne said that the next step will be to define the training demands for the SMAPs and carry out the training in product and service quality. This will take six months. The main objective is to upgrade the product and services of these places for better quality.

The accommodation providers will also be shown how to use Information Technology to upgrade the industry - for example how to send e-mails, marketing on the web. These methods would enable SMAPs to reach a large market at minimum cost.

In addition they can be integrated to the internet to promote technical know-how and knowledge transfer and the best practices exchange between Europe, Asia and the Asian countries. She said that they are planning to categorise these accommodation providers and connect them to the Sri Lanka Tourism website at a later stage.

Mangala said that the program is spearheaded with the support of the Sri Lanka Tourism Authority Chairman Renton De Alwis. He said that the second meeting with the stakeholders will be held in the last week of February to evaluate the program and provide the training material for SMAPs in Sri Lanka and Nepal.

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Presidential awards for travel and tourism

The first ever Presidential Awards for travel and tourism will be held tomorrow under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. These awards recognise the contribution made to the hospitality industry by persons and institutions (past and present).

Chairman, Panel of judges Nalin Attygalle said that there will be 44 awards and the event will feature special categories such as tourism legends and pioneers through which significant contributions were made in the past by the tourism leaders.

Awards will be made posthumously as well. The other categories include hotels tour operations, tour guiding, communication organisations CSR efforts and local tourism initiatives.

The strategic partner of the event is Dialog Telekom.

He said that the industry leaders will participate in a gala reception today at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel as a pre award event to celebrate the award and its significance.

This will serve as a grand networking opportunity for all sectors of the industry. Attygalle said that applications were entertained for 60 days and they received 105 applications which was a good start.

Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism Authority Renton De Alwis said that tourism in Sri Lanka has had its ups and downs since 1983 and has always emerged a winner.

He said that since November last year tourism is picking up and compared to November 2006 it has recorded a 20% growth while in December 2007 it was a 55.8% growth compared to the corresponding period in 2006.

He was confident that the growth in January will be higher since the spiritual leader of the Borah community was in Sri Lanka and with him there were about 15,000 devotees in Sri Lanka during the past two weeks.

In addition the Galle Literary Festival which concluded on January 20 was a success and the hotels in Galle and Hikkaduwa were full to capacity in those areas, he said.

De Alwis said that at present no country has issued a travel ban on Sri Lanka as reported by some newspapers. A travel ban is a total ban while every country issues travel advisories. It is a reality of the world, he said. In the event of a flood or disease a travel advisory is issued by a country to advise travellers that there is such an incident.

Travel warnings are issued by countries to warn travellers not to travel to some particular district or place or to be cautious when travelling to some districts. Therefore, the correct word should be used when reporting, he said.

Senior Manager, Group Marketing Promotions and Sports Marketing Dialog Telekom, Chirantha De Zoysa said that they are looking at more long term partnerships as they believe that investing in such initiatives would help develop Sri Lanka's Tourism.

SG

Goa carnival from Feb 15-18

Goa will come alive next month as three days and three nights of non-stop colour, music and dance takeover the Indian costal state.

The Goa Carnival from February 15-18 is a tradition dating back to the Portuguese reign, celebrating the fun-loving spirit of the state and its people.

All over Goa, the streets gyrate to the pulsating sound of drums and the swinging melody of an unending orchestra trumpeting throughout the night.

Adding colour to the musical procession, elaborate and colourful floats depicting famous lullabies and nursery rhymes join the parade.

"There are no spectators at the Goa Carnival, everyone is a part of it, either singing, dancing, parading in the processions, monkeying around or smearing each other with coloured dyes, its all about having fun," SriLankan Holidays General Manager, Amith Sumanapala said.

"The whole of Goa just turns into a huge non-stop party and locals and visitors get so involved in the festivities that three days seem too little."

Livening up the festivities further will be the fireworks displays, children's musical orchestra, people funny costumes, fortune tellers and competitions that will ensure visitors keep up late into the night.

"It is an experience of a lifetime and you have to be there, among the crowds, having fun."

SriLankan Holidays has introduced an irresistible four days three nights offer per person on twin sharnig basis, inclusive of airfare, hotel accommodation, airport transfers and unlimited fun.