Denesh Silva appointed as PATA Lankan Chapter Chairman

At the recently concluded Annual General Meeting of Pacific Asia Travel Association - Sri Lanka Chapter, Denesh Silva was elected and appointed as the Chairman for the year 2017/2018. Speaking on his recent appointment, he spoke and highlighted on forming a “Youth Brigade” to take the Sri Lanka Chapter forward. 

SriLankan Catering reigns at Culinary Expo 2017

The highly skilled and experienced team at SriLankan Catering (SLC) bagged no less than 29 medals (7 Golds, 10 Silvers and 12 Bronzes) at Culinary Art Expo 2017, that was held for the 17th time in Colombo recently.

Five-year strategic plan to accomplish short and long-term objectives: CHSGA

Ceylon Hotel School Graduates Association (CHSGA) in consultation with 3W Consulting rolls out a five-year strategic plan to lead Sri Lanka’s tourism and hospitality industry whilst establishing its purpose in the business.

Mastercard makes luxury travel experiences simpler with LoungeKey Airport Access Programme

Mastercard announced the extension of the globally acclaimed LoungeKey airport access programme to all World and Platinum Mastercard cardholders in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka’s tourism industry looks to India for growth

Increased access for air travellers, stronger advertising campaigns and enhanced bilateral cooperation are underpinning Sri Lanka’s push to expand its foothold in one of the world’s largest potential tourism source markets – India.

Kingsbury bags multiple accolades at World Luxury Restaurant Awards

Adding to an ever-growing list of international awards and accolades, The Kingsbury once again has stamped Sri Lanka on the global hospitality map. 

William Angliss Colombo eighth-batch celebrates grand ‘Prasthan’

Graduating students of the eighth-batch of William Angliss Institute of Colombo Academy of Hospitality Management had a grand ‘Prasthan’ recently, which was held in a colourful manner with a Bollywood themed Street Food Festival. 

Harith Perera new SLAITO

Hemas Travel Cluster Managing Director Harith Perera was appointed as incoming president of the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) 2017/2018 at the 37th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of SLAITO which was held on 25th August in the presence of over 200 attendees.

The second edition of Cinnamon Future of Tourism Summit 2017 announced

Recognizing the importance of a streamlined growth plan and educating industry stakeholders, the second edition of Cinnamon Future of Tourism Summit 2017 will host 14 innovators of the travel and tourism industry to emphasise on the importance of technology, authenticity and innovation to achieve the country’s development goal.

Threat of price war clouds horizon for Maersk shipping business

REUTERS: A.P. Moller-Maersk has been fortified by the US $ 7.5 billion sale of its oil and gas business to France’s Total, but the company’s main sea freight business faces the threat of a new price war in a consolidating industry.

UK’s LRQA awards Colombo Dockyard ISO 9001:2015 certifications

The Technical Review Committee of Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA), UK, has approved the issue of ISO 9001:2015 certificates to Colombo Dockyard PLC (CDPLC) making it one of the very first shipyards in the region to receive a certification to ISO 9001:2015 from LRQA. 

PF-NMF India MoU to enhance Indian Ocean maritime cooperation

The Centre for Indo-Lanka Initiatives at the Pathfinder Foundation (PF) and National Maritime Foundation (NMF) based in New Delhi, India, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two think-tank organisations engaged in academic research.  

Multi-country marine HR conference focuses on sustainable ship management

Asia Marine Colombo, a joint venture (JV) between Mercantile Marine Management Limited and reputed ship management company, Reederei NSB, based in Buxtehude Germany, reiterated its commitment to growing knowledge and competencies in specialized marine HR solutions by holding an NSB Marine Officers’ Conference in Colombo recently.

Sri Lanka maritime aspirations in troubled waters

Lack of antitrust laws has made the free economy of Sri Lanka to become a closed one, which is controlled by a few individuals who monopolize the country’s business activity 

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive elected Chairman of IATA’s Board of Governors

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, has been elected Chairman of the Board of Governors (BoG) of prestigious global aviation industry body International Air Transport Association (IATA), effective June 2018.

SIA and SilkAir offer attractive fares to South East Asia

Customers travelling on Singapore Airlines and Silk Air will have the opportunity to avail attractive fares to their favourite destinations.

Original 1960’s Gulf Air uniform sketch donated to airline

A signed sketch by the late Joy Stokes, designer of Gulf Air’s cabin crew uniforms in the 1960s and 1970s, was recently donated by her son Michael Stokes to the national carrier and now appears in the airline’s Gulf Air Falcon Gold Lounge at Bahrain International Airport.

Tourism Leaders Summit, Int’l Tourism Research Symposium 2017 in Oct.

The third Tourism Leaders Summit and International Tourism Research Symposium will be held this October in an effort to continue to improve the strategic direction of Sri Lanka’s  tourism industry.

Vietnam’s TV crew to produce documentary on Lankan tourism

Sri Lanka Tourism, in collaboration with the Sri Lankan Embassy in Vietnam, arranged a familiarization tour for a TV crew of Nhan Dan (National TV) recently, to create awareness and promote Sri Lanka as a popular destination among the  Vietnamese travellers. 

Findmyfare.com offers mobile app for exciting Mobile Exclusive deals

Sri Lanka’s largest online travel company, findmyfare.com, is offering a mobile application (app) that allows customers to access, through smartphones, many of the travel-related innovations for which the company has become known.

Oman Air and Industrial Optimizers sign agreement

Oman Air and Industrial Optimizers have signed an agreement concerning the MP2 Aero Fleet Assigner optimizer, including the functionality for scheduling and network analysis.   “We are very happy with this agreement and excited to work with Oman Air, an airline that is renowned for their high quality of service”, says Tore Jenner, CEO at Industrial Optimizers. 

Siddhalepa Group opens second hotel project Anarva with Rs.1.8 bn investment

The second hotel project of Siddhalepa Group, the Siddhalepa Anarva in Mount Lavinia built with an investment of Rs. 1.8 billion was opened to guests last week.

Experience old world charm and glamour at Tamarind Hill by Asia Leisure

Tamarind Hill by Asia Leisure is a divinely restored manor house built close to three centuries ago in the outskirts of the heritage city of Galle that oozes style and sophistication. 

Emirates Airbus A380 Business Class offers ultimate luxury and style in sky

From its majestic exterior to its elegant interior, I found Emirates A380 a fascination indeed and cruising on board its Business Class a testament to what’s travelling in style and luxury in the sky. The inspirational travel experience was Emirates’ offer as part of a FAM tour of Dubai, in line with the airliner’s maiden and one-off Colombo voyage recently. 

‘Belt and Road’ expert shares insights at CILT Logistics Leaders’ Evening

The Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport (CILT) Sri Lanka Logistics Leaders’ Evening was held recently with a lecture titled ‘China’s Belt & Road Initiative – A realization of an Aspiration’ by Professor Paul Tae-Woo Lee at the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka Auditorium. 

IOSL workshop for marketers rescheduled for August 24th

 The workshop organized by IOSL titled “How to be a successful marketer in the shipping and logistics industry” has been rescheduled for August 24th at the Hilton Colombo.?

Should shipping agencies be liberalized?

 As the centre of the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka has a long history involved in both East and West Shipping trade lanes.

Sri Lanka Chapter elects Denesh Silva as PATA Chairman

The Sri Lanka Chapter enables its members to conduct their various assigned responsibilities for selling travel related products and providing services to visitors to the island in a more effective manner. 

School children treated to tour of Emirates A380

A group of school children were provided a rare opportunity to walk through the world’s largest passenger aircraft when Emirates operated a one-off flight with the iconic aircraft to the Bandaranaike International Airport recently. 

Great fares to celebrate Singapore Airlines 70th anniversary

Singapore Airlines together with SilkAir, the regional wing of Singapore Airlines (SIA), are offering attractive Business Class and Economy Class fares to selected destinations, giving more reasons for customers to travel to their preferred destinations.