Sri Lanka to build southern coastal city to leading tourism hub in South Asia

COLOMBO, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the government aims to transform the southern city of Galle into a leading tourism hub in South Asia due to it's historic value and the World Heritage Galle Fort, local media reported Tuesday. 

Wickremesinghe, addressing a forum on the Development Plan for Galle and its suburbs, said all illegal constructions within the Galle Fort would be removed and state organisations located in the Galle Fort area would be shifted without delay.

 He said Galle's new development plan with the aim of promoting tourism will be implemented while preserving and protecting the precious World Heritage Site of the historic Galle Fort and no fortifications will be permitted according to the requests of individuals or organizations. 

Wickremesinghe further said all illegal constructions at the Galle International Cricket Stadium will be also removed accordingly. 

The prime minister had recently said that Galle's tourism plans will also focus heavily on conservation of the natural eco-system and new laws will be formulated to protect the environment in the area during construction. 

The Galle district, the prime minister said, is located between two international airports Katunayake and Mattala and although many concentrate on the coastal area of Galle in terms of tourism, its interior areas were blessed with natural beauty and have immense potential. 

 "That is why we have already made plans to start tourism projects in Akurala and Koggala. With all these projects, Galle, I am certain, will become a major tourism hub in the region," the Prime Minister said. 

Sri Lanka's tourism sector has continued to grow since a three-decade civil conflict ended in May 2009 between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels. 

China has been Sri Lanka's second largest market with 115,870 Chinese tourists arriving so far this year.

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Culinary Art 2018 puts Sri Lanka ‘in the upper rung for delectable cuisine’

 

The local hotel industry and its connected interest areas were complementary to the tourist trade in general and were instrumental in increasing the number of tourists who visited Sri Lanka. Culinary Art 2018, now in its 18th year, was a factor that spurred tourist arrivals, ensuring Sri Lanka was now firmly in the "must visit" grouping of countries, Minister of Tourism and Christian Religious Affairs John Amaratunga said.

He was Chief Guest at the Culinary Art 2018 exhibition held recently at the BMICH.. He said the significance of this annual event was that each year portrayed progressive strides in culinary skills exhibited by the local hotel industry.

He lauded the group of organizers who had ensured the productss exhibited were of the highest levels. 'As in previous years the exhibition would provoke wider visitor interests and ensure an increased number of tourist arrivals, the minister said.

He further said it would be encouraging if more women were attracted to the hospitality trade.

The minister added that excellence in culinary art becomes necessary to keep pace with the fast growing tourism industry to satisfy the complex food passions, adopting the highest standards of culinary art. 'Broad participation in the competition would undoubtedly be a hallmark of excellence for the future as well.'

Chairman Chef’s Guild of Sri Lanka, Gerard Mendis said this year's exhibits would be judged by a group of international chefs; Bernd Uber, from Germany, Eric Wong, SATS Catering, Singapore, Walter Butt, Switzerland, Eric Low from Singapore.

Included also in the panel were Chef Dilip de Silva (with UK experience), Eraj Abeywardena, with qualifications from Budapest, Hiran Serasinghe, who was with the Oberoi India, Sunil Danthanarayana, who served with the Intercontinental Hotels Chain, Athula Senanayake, graduated from Austria and worked at the Hilton International, UK, Nishadha Periyaperuma, from the Hyatt, and a graduate of Regency Campus, Adelaide, Chamila Jayasinghe, Atlantis and Palm, Nalaka Fernando, who worked at AB Mauri, and Keerthi Hapugasdeniya, domiciled in Australia.

Culinary Art Food Expo ( CAFÉ),held this month, featured a substantial number of Sri Lankan industry professionals, spanning vertical sectors from Food and Drink , Food Service, and Hospitality Equipment. The exhibition also featured regional industry professionals and exhibitors.

The competition was open to chefs from resorts, restaurants, hotels from all parts of the country and the region, Gerard Mendis further said the Chefs Guild, established 1988, was an industry centered training platform with structured culinary programmes to establish world class experience in hospitality training.

At the awards ceremony held on the third day of the exhibition some 360 competitors were judged for The Festive Buffet, Sri Lanka Master Baker of the Year, Sri Lanka Artistic Creative Pastry Chef , Sri Lanka Family Master Cooking Championship, Sri Lanka Arrack and Vodka Cocktail Championship and Scan Sunquick Moktail Competition.

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Boat Show and Boating Festival Sri Lanka 2018

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Boat Show & Boating Festival Sri Lanka 2018 is organized by Boat Building Technology Improvement Institute (BTI) and Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB), in association with Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade, Ministry of Industry & Commerce, Ministry of Ports and Shipping at Galle Yacht Marina, Port of Galle.

To provide a single platform for all related business sectors involved directly and indirectly in the boat and ship building industry and nautical tourism sector to display and promote their respective sectors for potential international and local clients and giving initiation for the leisure boating culture to the Sri Lanka.

South Asia’s most focused and largest international Boat Show and Boating Festival Sri Lanka 2018 will be held from 26th to 28th October 2018 at the Galle Yacht Marina of the Port of Galle. This event will be the first ever marine festival in Sri Lanka organized to show case the country’s capabilities in recreational boating and yachting, nautical tourism, boat building and related services for export and local markets. To attract the younger age groups towards boating, in addition to the boat and ship building sector, water sports events geared to the younger generation including wake boarding, water skiing, jet ski racing, wind surfing, catamaran and dinghy racing, try a boat event run by sailing clubs, fashion show linked to a nautical theme, fishing events and demonstrations, music (various bands), F and B court, classic car rally and display, Sri Lanka cultural display especially those linked to the sea, events for school children, nautical tourism, ocean academy, Sun & Sand Festival etc. will be added. Following the success of Boat Show Sri Lanka 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, & 2016 the upcoming boating festival will attract large number of buyers and visitors, boating enthusiasts, and industry professionals from countries such as India, Singapore, Seychelles, Maldives, South Korea, Belgium, Middle East, Germany, Holland, UK etc.

The Boat Show and Boating Festival Sri Lanka 2018 will be organized by Boat Building Technology Improvement Institute Lanka (gte) Limited (BTI) and the Sri Lanka Export Development Board in association with Ministry of Development Strategies & International Trade, Ministry of Industry and Commerce and Ministry of Ports and Shipping (Sri Lanka Ports Authority).

The Boat Show & Boating Festival Sri Lanka 2018 will be organized at Galle Yacht Marina, Port of Galle from 26th to 28th October 2018, with the objective of providing a single platform for all related business sectors involved directly and indirectly in the boat and ship building industry and fisheries sector to display and promote their respective sectors for potential clients. The total number of stalls in this year is around 80.

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Sri Lanka's tourist arrivals grow 6.2 percent

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COLOMBO, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's tourist arrivals grew by 6.2 percent in May, compared to the same month last year, with over 129,000 tourists visiting the island country, statistics from the Tourism Ministry showed on Tuesday.

India, China, Britain, Germany and Australia were the top five markets generating the highest number of arrivals.

Almost 96.7 percent of tourists travelled by air to Sri Lanka.

China, which was within the top three markets, had 17,103 tourists visiting Sri Lanka in May.

This year, Sri Lanka has already recorded 115,870 Chinese tourist arrivals to the island country.

Overall tourist arrivals this year has been over 1 million with the government targeting a 2.5-million tourist arrival by the end of the year.

In a bid to attract more Chinese travelers, Tourism Minister John Amaratunga said last month that the Sri Lankan government had signed an agreement with a leading Chinese tour operator.

Amaratunga said China is an important destination for Sri Lankan tourism and the government hopes to attract over 300,000 Chinese tourists this year.

The minister said the government will target a revenue of 4.4 billion U.S. dollars through its tourism sector this year.

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Sri Lanka Tourism sees Mumbai as market of high growth potential

Sri Lanka Tourism started its 2018 tourism calendar with a positive output by participating in the 5th edition of the India International Travel & Tourism Exhibition –IITT 2018, with more than 28,000 visitors and more than 500 fully-hosted buyers attending it. This travel extravaganza was held from 11th to 13th January. 

SriLanka Tourism played a major role at the IITT as the MICE& Wedding Destination partner. Sri Lanka is becoming widely popular as a wedding destination for those who want to have a different experience in a different culture. Its different picturesque landscapes and colonial style hotels offer a rare treat to have the perfect matrimonial experience of one’s choice. 

The other key sponsors of this event included Indonesia Tourism, Feature Destination, Maharastra Tourism, Host State & Malaysia Tourism, Feature Country. The Sri Lanka pavilion was able to draw a major attraction as it was exquisitely crafted and designed, highlighting Sri Lanka’s talent of making innovative and vivid creations. 

The creativity of the Sri Lanka pavilion met other levels of art with professionalism. IITT partnering with Sri Lanka proved to be rather momentous for the industry, and showed signs of having an idyllic business partnership in future as well. 

The Sri Lanka pavilion was declared open by Shri Jayakumar Jitendrasingh Rawal, Minister of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra, and also Saroja Sirisena, Sri Lanka Consul General in Mumbai. Twenty eight leading travel agents and hoteliers from Sri Lanka including leading names in the industry from Sri Lanka participated at the event, and were able to further strengthen their business relationships and marketing strategies with their Indian counterparts. 

Coinciding with the event, Sri Lanka Tourism hosted a dinner titled ‘Sri Lanka evening’ for Indian wedding planners, tour operators and the media, which gained the attention of Sri Lanka as a rapidly growing wedding and film destination, with its wide diversity of attractions to suit the needs of any interested traveler. The cultural performances showcasing Sri Lanka’s heritage attracted the Indian participants immensely both at the IITT and also the Sri Lanka evening. 

The inauguration panel of IITT 2018 graced the presence of Shri Jaykumar Jitendrasinh Rawal, Minister of Tourism, Government of Maharastra, Special Guest Saroja Sirisena, Sri Lanka Consul General in Mumbai, Karan Anand, Head of Relationships and Supplier Management, Cox & Kings. Joining them were industry leaders Jatinder Paul Singh, COO, Cox & Kings, Sunil Kumar, President, TAAI, Mahendra Vakharia, President, OTOAI, Guldeep Singh Sahni, Founder & Immediate Past President, OTOAI, Pronab Sarker – President, IATO and P. P Khanna, President, ADTOI. 

Through strong collaborations with countries seeking to expand their business in India, IITT hosted dedicated and distinct International Country Pavilions on the expo floor. Trade show visitors had a chance to meet, and gain invaluable insight from more than 500 travel exhibitors, partners and experts from over 20 International countries. With the existence of International Pavilions, the global connection only strengthened this expo and helped to touch new standards of connectivity with excellence and quality. 

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