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Joint Indo- Lanka travel promotion mooted for ITB Fair

by Ravi Ladduwahetty

Sri Lanka and India should undertake a joint promotion campaign for tourism at the forthcoming ITB Fair in Berlin, Tourism Minister Gamini Lokuge said on Monday.

Minister Lokuge told a meeting of travel trade representatives when the Ministry of Tourism of Andra Pradesh hosted a promotion for the Sri Lankan market at the Taj Samudra Hotel.

The Tourism Minister said that Indian tourist traffic to Sri Lanka had grown tremendously during 2003 following the :" Buy One and have one free" which has resulted in 32 weekly flights between Sri Lanka and India.

He also invited Andra Pradesh tourism to participate in the Travel Mart in May, which he described as the Gateway to South Asia.

Secretary to the Ministry of Tourism Dr. P. Ramanujam said that the Sri Lanka's tourism promotion in Indian markets last year paid rich dividends with 68,000 tourist arrivals from the subcontinent, which was the third largest from all markets after United Kingdom and Germany.

He said that the September 11, 2001 was the eye opener for the world from a tourism perspective and that had opened the prospects for regional tourism markets within the SAARC region.

He stressed the need for regional cooperation and also for the Indian Government to look at visas on arrival favourably as a reciprocation for the gesture of the Sri Lankan Government offering the same facility.

Andra Pradesh Minister of Tourism and Culture said that he was happy to share the experiences of the development of Andra Pradesh following the developments taken by Chief Minister Chandra Babu Naidoo who also developed the Information Technology in the region.

It was he who developed the IT sector and took India to the world, he said. He stressed that Indian tourism had also developed value added services such as Ayurveda and other aspects of health tourism. He said that the Indian tourism Police had also been fortified to provide protection to tourists.

The recent promotion staged by Andra Pradesh Tourism had resulted in 52.5 million arrivals last year, he said.

Secretary to the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Mrs Chandana Khan held a presentation of the tourist sites of Andra Pradesh which included Hyderabad, Warangal, Vishakapatnam, Amaravati and Nagarjunarsagar.

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Indian tourist arrivals to top 100,000 this year

by Shirajiv Sirimane

Sri Lanka expects Indian tourist arrivals to exceed 100,000 before the end of this year.

According to the Chairman of the Ceylon Hotels' Corporation, Bodhi Ranasinghe the main reason to attract the Indian market was the 'visa on arrival' policy adopted by the Government. "There were only two offices in Chennai and New Delhi to issue visas to Indians. But now any South Asian can simply fly to Sri Lanka."

He said since the Sri Lankan rupee is trading lower than the Indian rupee, the buying power of the Indians in Sri Lanka is high. "It is cheaper for Indians to come on a vacation to Sri Lanka than selecting a destination in India."

The Chairman said that the Indian tourist arrivals were at the 30,000 mark in 2000 and it rose to 70,000 last year.

He said that India is exploring the possibility of flying their domestic airlines to Sri Lanka in the future. In an interview with the Daily News he said that this issue was discussed at a recent meeting attended by the Minister of Tourism, Gamini Lokuge, Secretary to the Minister and himself in New Delhi.

He said that officials of the Sri Lanka's High Commission, SriLankan Airlines, Indian travel industry officials and tour operators too attended this meeting. "Lack of airline seats was an important issue at this meeting and it was said that the Indian airlines have allocated their quota of seats to Sri Lanka." He said that it was proposed that Sahara and Jet Air, two leading domestic airline operators will be given permission to operate to Sri Lanka shortly. "If this becomes a reality the Sri Lanka tourists industry will not have to depend on the seasonal tourists from Europe. We promoted some of our properties such as Tissa, Belihul Oya, Elle, Kotmale, Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa, Mihintale to the Indian market through the Indian travel operators we met in New Delhi," he said.

He said the meeting also helped them to iron out many problems faced by the Indian tour operators.

The Chairman said that the proposed Ferry service between India and Sri Lanka was also discussed during this visit and added that the signing of the MoU between the two Shipping Ministers will take place on March 31.

This service will cater mainly to the business class as the baggage allowance of 50 kg. would be a major attraction to them, he said.

During their visit they met the Minister of Tourism in India, Prof. K. T. Thomas and discussed the possibility of promoting India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives as a three stop destination. The Indian Minister has suggested a student exchange program between the two Hotels Schools in India and Sri Lanka.

The Chairman who has been involved in the industry for over two decades said that they proposed to conduct a Sri Lanka Food promotional event in Kerala.

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Asian Food Festival in Sri Lanka

by Tharika Goonathilake

Culinary art at its best - showcasing the best of cuisine from the Asian region will take centre stage when Sri Lanka Tourism together with the hotel industry host the `Asian Food Festival' in August- September this year.

This is a part of a promotional initiative aimed at creating an interest about the country and its diversity.

The festival which is to be organised on the level of an international cuisine fare with both foreign and local chefs doing the honours will be promoted with the participation of hotels. The event is expected to draw a significant crowd given the special promotional tours and packages designed to coincide with the event.

"Festivals of this nature are major attractions for gourmets as well as cuisine lovers. Many countries in the region promote festivals of this nature to create an interest about the destination," Sri Lanka Tourism Board Chairman Paddy Withana told the `Daily News'.

Regional food fare from Thailand, Korea, Philippines, Singapore, Indian, Malaysia and Japan and a host of other countries will be included in the Asian food festival.

Everything from street food to gourmet delicacies will be on offer at the festival in addition to the culinary presentations of international chefs, food stalls and food information on regional and local specialties.

"Arrangements are being made to promote the event and ascertain the feedback from both international and local clientele interested in participating in the festival given the rising interest in Sri Lanka's tourism," the chairman said.

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