Travel

Tourism: A lucrative investment in Jaffna

by Surekha GALAGODA

Jaffna the capital city of the North is slowly but steadily returning to normality.

When peace dawned seven months ago there were only 2-3 hotels to accommodate tourists but today there are 17-20 such properties.

Tourism is a very lucrative investment and we are ready to offer lands with a beach front to the investors who wish to invest in this sector said Chairman Chamber of Commerce and Industries of Yarlpanam, K. Poornachandran.

He said that there are lands with a beach front available in Point Pedro, Mandathivu, Chaati and Kashona.

In the areas of Chaati and Kashona there are white sand beaches which is very clean and clear.

He said that already an investor has shown interest to put up a 100 roomed hotel in Kashona.

We are requesting investors to come in good faith and trust.

We encourage joint ventures in the sector of tourism as this is the way to move forward.

The beaches in the North and the East are the best while there are many historic and religious sites including Nallur Kovil, Jaffna Fort, churches, temples and kovils people can visit. According to estimates around 500,000 people visit Jaffna daily.

The plea of the Jaffna people is enjoy the beauty, but don't destroy it and preserve it for the future generations who could enjoy it too.

There is a population of 1.2 million in the North while Jaffna alone has a population of 600,000.

On planning board of PJ's:

'MUDLIAR' hotel with 2050 rooms

Taking the opportunities after the conclusion of hostilities which held back Tourism among other development activities, the PJ Group has planned a number of diverse Hotel products predominantly in the North and the East.

The exception will be the 2050 roomed 'Mudliar' Hotel on 100 acres in Kalpitiya.

The iconic Hotel is to be built around a museum dedicated to the colourful Mudliar 'Don Adrian' appointed to the post 200 years ago, will be a city in itself.

Chief Architect Anton Jacob promises that each of the 2050 rooms will be different among a host of other firsts, not only in Sri Lanka but in the world.

Having conceptualized and built the one of a kind boutique hotel which shot to international fame 'The Elephant Corridor' in Sigiriya , Architect Anton Jacob and our Chairman Prasanna Jayewardene think 'the time is right to build a Hotel 100 times bigger' says Amara Galagoda spokesperson for the PJ Group.

The 'Mudliar' will keep to the vision of President Mahinda Rajapaksa of having 2.5 million tourist arrivals by the year 2016. The Hotel will be open to the public before 2016.

Cooperation to keep flying safe

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said the security of passengers and employees is a top priority for the aviation industry.

IATA urged the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to partner with industry to identify the most effective and efficient ways to address the evolving security challenge in light of the foiled terrorist plot to down a Detroit-bound aircraft.

In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano, IATA's Director General and CEO Giovanni Bisignani appreciated the swift reaction of DHS to maintain the confidence of the flying public and airline employees.

Bisignani noted the need for short-term temporary and extra-ordinary security measures until the immediate threat has abated.

But he cautioned Secretary Napolitano that long-term solutions must include improved technology and effective risk assessment techniques. The air transport system cannot support 100% pat-down searches over the long-term. IATA is recommending a smaller percentage of intensive pat downs accompanied by technologies or proportionate screening procedures as a means to achieve near-term security requirements with reduced delays.

While security is a government responsibility, it is a shared priority with industry. Bisignani urged DHS to allow the current short-term measures to be urgently followed-up by a comprehensive DHS/industry review of security systems to address existing and evolving security threats.

The failed Detroit terror plot emphasized two key realities: the global nature of the threat and the need for effective cooperation and information sharing among and within intelligence organizations. Effective security needs a system that is built on global harmonization, effective information exchange, industry/government cooperation, risk assessment and efficient technology. This is how we made flying the safest way to travel. We must take the same approach with security, said Bisignani.

Numbers illustrate the scale of the challenge. In the 12 months to September 2009, air transport connected 2.2 billion passengers safely and securely. This includes 820 million international travellers of which 140 million were international travellers on US routes. Another component is the US domestic market which accounts for 620 million travellers. We live on an interconnected planet. Effective security cannot be achieved with a silo-approach, said Bisignani.

As governments, with industry, review security in the days and weeks ahead, Bisignani urged a long-term re-think of the security model. Instead of looking for bad things - nail clippers and rogue bottles of shampoo-security systems need to focus on finding bad people. Adding new hardware to an old system will not deliver the results we need. It is time for governments to invest in a process built around a check point of the future that combines the best of screening technology with the best of intelligence gathering. Such a system would give screeners access to important passenger data to make effective risk assessments. The data is being collected. The technology exists. Industry is supportive. Now ICAO and governments must work together to make such a process a reality with global harmonization and data-sharing, said Bisignani.

Each year airlines and their passengers invest US$ 5.9 billion in security measures.

Attempted airliner attack no impact on business travel

A survey of more than 150 travel managers by the National Business Travel Association (NBTA) - the association for business travel professionals - shows that the December 25, 2009 attempted bombing of an Amsterdam-to-Detroit flight is likely to have little impact on business travel levels.

The number of respondents reporting the attempted attack raised new concerns about the safety of air travel (43%) was nearly equal to the percentage reporting that no new concerns resulting from the incident (42%). Eighty-one percent of respondents said their companies would not reduce travel as a result of the attack; 2 percent said they would reduce international travel; zero said they would reduce domestic travel; and 16 percent said they are still assessing.

Asked if the new security directives implemented by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on January 4 raise a new level of concern about the convenience or comfort of air travel, 48 percent of survey respondents said no and 36 percent said yes.

NBTA President and CEO, Craig Banikowski, "The survey results are right in line with what we've seen in the past with attempted attacks and changes in security protocols.

These incidents prompt a lot of important discussion and analysis, but don't significantly alter corporate travel patterns, because travel is the lifeblood of so many businesses.

The primary actions travel managers are taking right now are engaging in discussions with top-level management and communicating with their companies' travellers."

NBTA Executive Director and COO, Michael W. McCormick added, NBTA encourages governments and airports to strike the proper balance of safety and efficiency in these new regulations and future policy changes.

On behalf of business travellers around the world, we plan to monitor the outcome of these new regulations, seeking feedback from the business travel community on convenience and safety.

We are also hopeful that in addition to physical screening enhancements, the United States will work more closely with international bodies to address watch list procedures and risk management programs that should serve as tools to help improve the aviation security system.?

The 152 survey respondents were from among NBTA's travel manager membership. The average NBTA member travel manager oversees a corporate travel budgets averaging more than $16 million.

Courtesy: TravelDaily News