Sri Lanka will grant free visas to tourists

Sri Lanka will grant free visas to tourists from key markets like the United Kingdom, Europe and Asian Buddhist countries like Thailand for six months from 1 April 2019 to encourage visits during months when arrivals usually slump.

The government information office said in a statement the Cabinet of Ministers had approved the proposal by John Amaratunga, Minister of Tourism Development, Wild Life and Christian Religious Affairs this week.

Free visas will be given to tourists from Thailand, United Kingdom, Australia, South Korea, Canada, United States of America, Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand and countries of the European Union, it said.

The move aims to encourage visits during key Buddhist festivals like Vesak and Poson during this period.

(COLOMBO, February 27, 2019-SB)

Source

Sri Lanka to take steps to improve indoor air quality

Colombo, Feb 21 (newsin.asia) – Sri Lanka’s Central Environmental Authority will formulate a set of guidelines to improve indoor air quality in an effort to minimize health impacts caused by air pollutants, local media reported Thursday.

The Cabinet of Ministers last week approved a three year pilot project from 2019 to 2021 to conduct a base study and set guidelines to improve indoor air quality in schools, hospitals, public buildings, office buildings and houses covering the entire country, Central Environmental Authority Laboratory Services Deputy Director, Hiranthi Jansz said.

Jansz said household wood-burning stoves, use of incense sticks, poorly maintained office air-conditioned environments and vehicle emissions were frequent instances of indoor air pollution.

She pointed out that the World Health Organization had recommended preparing guidelines for indoor air quality.

“Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is a growing concern. Most people spend about 90 percent of their time indoors. The quality of indoor air is important not only for occupants’ comfort but also for their health,” the ITI Environmental Technology said in a statement.

“Poor indoor air quality has been tied to symptoms like headaches, fatigue, trouble in concentrating, and irritation of the eyes, nose, throat and lungs. Also, some specific diseases have been linked to specific air contaminants or indoor environments, like asthma with damp indoor environments,” the ITI added.

Source

150 Sri Lankans get Mahatma Gandhi scholarship

Colombo, February 21 (AIR): In Sri Lanka, 150 students from all 25 districts were awardedthe prestigious Mahatma Gandhi scholarships for study in India.

Sri Lankan education minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam and Indian High Commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu gave the scholarships at a special ceremony held in Colombo on Wednesday.

This is the twelfth year in continuation that India has provided Mahatma Gandhi scholarships to bright students across Sri Lanka.

The minister appreciated the assistance provided by India including for the new trilingual school in Polonnaruwa and Saraswathy College in Kandy.

He also thanked India for providing training to teachers in Sri Lanka. High commissioner of India said that it was special occasion where 150 Sri Lankan students were awarded the Mahatma Gandhi scholarships while the world is celebrating the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

He urged the students in Sri Lanka to connect with the youth of India and told them to take advantage of scientific and educational developments in India.

The high commissioner noted that India has recently launched a new Portal titled “Study in India” and more than 25000 seats are earmarked in Indian Institutions for foreign students.

He expressed hope that Sri Lankan youth would make full use of the opportunities in India.

(The featured image at the top is that of Indian High Commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu addressing the scholarship holders)

Source

Sri Lanka to identify tourism development zones to boost arrivals

Colombo, Feb 21 (newsin.asia) – The Sri Lankan government will identify tourism development zones throughout the island which will concentrate on tourism related activities, a statement from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) said here Thursday.

The SLTDA embarked on a mutual partnership with the the Urban Development Authority (UDA) to identify the zones which will be set up to avoid ad-hoc tourism development and to avoid undesirable activities.

The zones are likely to be set up in places such as the central highlands of Ella and Nuwara Eliya and Arugam Bay, Kalpitiya, Beruwala, Hikkaduwa and Pinnawala. These areas are popular tourist areas.

“Sri Lanka has been identified as one of the fast-emerging tourist destinations in the South Asian Region. The island’s biodiversity, long lasted culture, historic monuments, exotic beaches, and evergreen environment can be identified as the key attractions for international tourists,” the SLTDA said in the statement.

“However, with the increased tourist arrivals various tourism related or associated activities are mushrooming in around popular tourist destinations. Most of these activities are developed in an irresponsible manner in the absence of proper development guidelines in existing and emerging tourism hubs,” the SLTDA added.

Such developments put invaluable cultural and natural assets at severe risk of degradation. At the same time, there are other locations, of which the potentials have yet to be properly explored for the development of tourism-related activities, the SLTDA further said.

Since the end of the island’s 30 year civil conflict between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels, which ended in May 2009, Sri Lanka has emerged as one of the leading travel destinations in the world.

Last year, Sri Lanka received 2.3 million tourists while this year it is aiming to welcome 3 million tourists.

Source

Sri Lanka the cynosure at Thai Travel Fair

The 2019 edition of the Thai International Travel Fair was held in Bangkok, Thailand last week. The inauguration was held at the Bangkok Convention Center at Central World Bangkok followed by a gala dinner at Centara Grand. The event was attended by over 500 tourism stakeholders from around the world including Sri Lanka.

The Chief Guest at the inauguration was the Tourism Minister of Thailand while the Guest of Honour was the Tourism Minister of Sri Lanka, John Amaratunga who received an enthusiastic welcome from the capacity crowd that was present.

Later on Minister Amaratunga declared opened the Sri Lanka Booth, which was the cynosure at the travel fair. Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau made use of the opportunity to launch a promotional microsite highlighting the Buddhist trail in Sri Lanka. The microsite consists of the main Buddhist tourism attractions in the country, meditation centres and facilities available to learn Buddhism in Sri Lanka. 

The microsite was launched by Minister Amaratunga along with Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Thailand, Kshenuka Seneviratne, President of the Thai Travel Agents Association, Thanaphon Cheewarattanaporn and Chairman, Tourism Advisory Committee, Harry Jayawardena.

Meanwhile Minister Amaratunga and the Sri Lankan delegation met President of the Association of Thai Travel Agents, Vichat Prakobgosol on the sidelines of the Travel Fair.

The two parties discussed ways and means of increasing the number of arrivals to Sri Lanka from Thailand. Thai travel agents emphasised that relaxation of visa requirements will help increase arrivals. The Thai travel agents pointed out that outbound traffic from Thailand to Japan increased by over one million when Japan granted visa on arrival to Thai nationals.

Launch of Buddhist Trail micro website

Minister John Amaratunga speaking at the launch of Buddhist trail

Launch of the Sri Lanka booth

Source

Sri Lankan tourism; all that glitters is not gold

Tourism in Sri Lanka was said to have reached an all-time high last year with a staggering 2.2 million tourists visiting the country. While news articles widely publicised this never before seen rate, little did anyone pay attention to return in investment and surge in local sales brought by these tourists. 

Most of the tourists visiting the country spend less than $ 500 a week – bringing very little income and indirect employment to our locals, which in turn does not contribute to our economy drastically. So what seems to be the issue here despite having a never before seen rate of tourists pour into Sri Lanka to enjoy our sandy beaches? Let’s dig a bit deeper into the issue. 

Digging deeper into the root cause

Whilst it’s important that Sri Lanka has a steady inflow of tourists, our legislative and other bodies do not pay attention to the type of tourists that visit the country. There has been a growing increase in budget hotels and other budget accommodations both in and out of Colombo, and this number only seems to be in the rising. Although the industry must cater to all levels of tourists, our tourism sector must pay special attention to bring down tourists with higher spending power as this is where the real sales and surge in our economy lies. 

In the past few years there has been a surge in many accommodations coming up in the North, Central Highlands, South and the Cultural Triangle of Sri Lanka. Almost 80% of these hotels have room rates below $ 90 for double half-board basis. Additionally, more and more hotels are coming up in these regions simply because owners find this lucrative market attractive and get into business either because they were advised by a friend or saw someone do well in the same trade. 

Diving headfirst into ventures without a proper plan

This isn’t healthy for hotels, banks and the Sri Lankan economy as there needs to be a substantial financial and business knowledge and planning put into a venture. The business will find it very hard in the long run to pay back their bank loans as it will take them between 10-12 years to breakeven whereas a hotel with a good business and financial model will breakeven between 5-7 years; simply because there was no solid financial plan at the inception therefore having a painful effect on the growth of the business. 

Tourists visiting Sri Lanka with lesser spending power, are not contributing to the growth of our economy. With a tourist spending less than $ 500 a week by cutting down on food, travel and any other possible expense whilst opting to stay at budget hotels, their actions are not helping indirect employment opportunities to grow. With foreigners choosing to either back-pack or choose low cost travel options like travelling by bus in town or train for long distances, they are not providing our local tuk tuk drivers and cab services indirect employment. 

Time for hotels to step up and improve their game

In addition to the majority of tourists Sri Lanka attracts, hotels too must take a step up and improve their services. Hotels can no longer rely on their restaurants and buffets to help make profits, as this accounts only up to 40% of the total sale. Hotels must focus on the remaining 60% that is the real value addition; accommodation services. However our fiscal standing doesn’t make higher priced hotel a beguiling destination for the cadre of tourists we attract. With 30% of a tax charged (with a breakdown of 10% Service Charge, 15% Value Added Tax &2% Nation Building Tax) in addition to the normal rates, tourists and locals alike are disheartened to yield a higher spending power. 

Corrective measures 

In order for Sri Lanka to attract the right kind of tourists which will in turn positively affect our economy and help our nation grow and provide our locals with direct and indirect employment, Sri Lanka must look into developing infrastructure and providing higher valued goods to attract the right level of clientele. Await to find out how Sri Lanka can facilitate an economic surge during our next publication. 

(The writer is an accountant by profession turned Head of Operations. He possesses over 29 years of expertise in the hospitality industry including 20 years of strong financial administration at five-star hotels. His expertise is spread throughout his various stints in various regions around the world including USA, The Caribbean, Middle East and Singapore as well as holding the position of an operation and commercial oriented Director of Finance, with a wealth of business experience. He is a highly result oriented professional, who believes in cohesive work environments and team work. He is now retired and consults professionally to a leading international consulting firm, whilst residing in his home in Colombo.)

Source

Tourism industry grows by 2.2% in January

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Data released by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka shows that tourism earnings have increased by 2.2% in January 2019.

The data reveals the country earned nearly USD 458.4mn in January this year, compared to USD 448.5mn during January last year(2018).

Sri Lanka welcomed nearly 244,239 tourists in January 2019, indicating an increase of 2.2% from last year’s 238,924.

In 2019, the Sri Lankan tourism industry expects to attract more than 3 mn foreign tourists as Sri Lanka is ranked number 1 destination to visit in 2019 by Lonely Planet.

To achieve above-mentioned target Sri Lanka needs a growth rate of 28.5% on average. However, the current growth rate is at 2.2%.

Source