By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): The first Bulgarian charter flight for the Winter 2023/24 season has arrived at the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA). Aitken Spence Travels said.

Operated by ‘Bulgaria Air,’ the flight brought over 200 enthusiastic holidaymakers eager to explore the wonders of Sri Lanka.

Throughout their stay, the visitors will embark on round tours, immersing themselves in the rich culture and breathtaking landscapes that Sri Lanka has to offer.

The itinerary includes visits to Kandy city, the cultural triangle, Pinnawela, the hill country, and concludes with guests enjoying the golden sandy beaches of the southern coast.

Guest accommodation ranges from luxurious 4 and 5 star properties to charming boutique establishments on the southern belt,a high official of Aitken Spence Travels revealed.

Aitken Spence Travels established a strategic partnership with one of Bulgaria’s leading tour operators to ensure the successful execution of this charter operation.

The collaboration involved extensive efforts, including sales calls, and comprehensive education initiatives for tour operators, aimed at promoting destination Sri Lanka as an exotic diversified holiday location.

The confidence gained from a previous charter operated earlier in the year reinforced the commitment of all parties involved.

Expressing confidence in Aitken Spence Travels, the Bulgarian tour operator said: “We witnessed the seamless handling of the first charter in March 2023, and we were eager to enhance our promotion of Sri Lanka.

We are certain that our guests will experience the beauty of your country, and we trust that everything will be expertly managed.

We wish to thank Aitken Spence Travels for conducting the sales calls and educational sessions to educate our agents and the market on your beautiful island.”

Aitken Spence Plc Jt. Deputy Chairperson and Jt. Deputy Managing Director Stasshani Jayawardena said: “We are delighted to tap into this emerging source markets and be able to operate charters to grow visitor numbers.

This shows our partner’s confidence in our quality of service and the destination to commit towards this charter operation commencing in December.”

Aitken Spence Travels, Managing Director, Nalin Jayasundera said: “Bulgaria is not a traditional source market for Sri Lanka and has generated around 1400 tourist in total (November SLTDA report). It is good to have visitors from an emerging market enjoying the diversity of Sri Lanka.”

“According to the SLTDA November 2023 report 32% of tourists that arrived in Sri Lanka journeyed through a transit airport. However, if the number of direct flights or charter flights grow, visitors can reach the destination with ease and have pleasant memories.

This emphasises the significance of air transportation and connectivity facilitating tourism numbers to the country.

Air connectivity plays a significant role in catering to a substantial portion of visitor arrivals and charter flights help build visitor confidence to the country,” Jayasundera added.

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): In another positive development, the government has established a cash buffer, enabling a reduction in its dependence on the market for weekly funding through Treasury bills and bonds.

This newfound flexibility empowers the government to strategically determine the amount to raise from the market.

Stating as to why the Central Bank, on behalf of the government, raises less than what it offers via bill and bond auctions, Central Bank Governor. Nandalal Weerasinghe said it is because now the government has relatively more flexibility over its finances, due to enhanced revenue flows.

“The government has built up this buffer for them to be able to make short-term debt service payments,” Weerasinghe said.

It appears that the higher revenues made via raising taxes since last year and cutting expenditures have given the Treasury more room to determine how much to raise via bill and bond auctions and at what rates.

Further, the government also appears to have cut its reliance on overdrafts from state banks for its urgent short-term funding needs.

The continuous dependence of the government on funds from the state banks has significantly burdened the latter’s balance sheets over an extended period.

As a result of enhanced inflows and the implementation of rigorous fiscal and structural reforms, the government has successfully transformed its overdrafts with banks into positive cash balances.

“Without relying on overdraft facilities from the two state banks, the government instead has deposits now. That I think is a good development,” Weerasinghe said.

Improved fiscal conditions and the large amounts already received and slated to receive from multilateral agencies for budget support are expected to further bring down the requirement for funds for the government from the market.

This in turn would leave more money available for the private sector, thereby helping to quicken the ease in yields and the interest rates in the weeks and months to come, helping to relax the financial conditions further.

The Government’s key medium-term fiscal objectives are targeting the restoration of fiscal discipline mainly through revenue based fiscal consolidation and expenditure management while ensuring the well-beingof the most marginalized and vulnerable segments of society and maintaining high quality capital expenditure to support long term growth.

The government is fully committed to achieving fiscal targets outlined in line with the economic reform programme supported by the IMF-EFF programme.

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka has witnessed a substantial increase in the user base for online loan applications across leading lending applications, Robocash, a leading legal and authorised online lender, revealed.

From a modest 10,600 in August 2021, the user base for online loan applications in Sri Lanka skyrocketed to 1.3 million by November 2023.

This is an exponential 125-fold surge in just over two years. “With an average monthly growth rate of 19.5 percent, this market exhibited rapid attraction of its target audience, showcasing consistent exponential growth without significant turning points,” Robocash said.

The online lender highlighted that these digital lending applications redefine convenience and speed in accessing financial services. Some apps boast lightning-fast approval times, offering innovative features and promising fund disbursement within minutes of application submission.

Others prioritise security through advanced fraud detection mechanisms, leveraging over 1,000 data points for risk mitigation.

Moreover, unique solutions like income diversification options are reshaping the lending landscape.

The growing popularity of these apps is propelled by their accessibility and inclusivity.

They empower users by providing immediate access to crucial financial information, interest rates and terms, allowing swift and informed decision-making without external consultations.

This accessibility has widened the lending landscape, extending financial solutions to underserved segments such as small farmers, women entrepreneurs and rural households.

Responding to regulatory gaps, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka plans to create a Credit Regulatory Authority, which aims to enhance oversight for credit firms, including digital lenders, improving industry practices.

“The growth of digital lending users is a reflection of increased trust in these types of services as a means to provide formal credit to the underserved,” said Robocash Sri Lanka Country Manager Konstantin Bereutsyn, commenting on the research.

He further echoed the reminder from the Digital Alternative Lending Association (DALA), of which Robocash is a member, for customers to solely engage with legitimate financial institutions for secure and ethical transactions.

Increased investment in technology by banks and financial institutions has placed the global Fintech industry at a value of over US$ 5,500 billion.

The industry’s growth shows no sign of retardation with the maturing of new technologies such as Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Further, the advancement of Blockchain technology in recent years has led to increasing popularity in Fintech’s latest development.

Dan Schulman, the Chief Executive Officer of PayPal anticipates digital currencies being the medium of everyday payments in the near future.

People are pushed to use a ‘contactless’ form of exchange due to the safety protocols in place courtesy of the global pandemic.

Despite holding a firm place in the future of the global banking sector, Central Bank believes that there are still unresolved issues for digital currencies.

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): Majority of Sri Lankans are suffering silently as a result of ever increasing cost of living amidst the economic crisis triggered by policy blunders of the previous regime still haunting the island nation.

Though the inflation rate is down to less than 4%, a family still faces an increased cost on consumption goods that reduces its welfare level.

Again, the reduced income levels over the increase in the consumption goods is a double whammy affecting the people. Though the reduction in inflation rate is good for the Central Bank as an indicator for its monetary policy, it is not a valid argument for measuring the welfare level of people if their income has not correspondingly increased.

The economic crisis is bearing on people with as many as 60.5 percent of households finding their monthly average incomes reduced while 91.0 percent of households experiencing an increase in their monthly expenditure levels, according to a survey by the Department of Census and Statistics.

The Department traced back the origin of the crisis to the 2019 Easter Sunday attack, said it was exacerbated by the Cpvid-19 pandemic.

The survey says households not only adapted their food consumption habits but also employed diverse livelihood-based coping strategies to address the challenges of inadequate food access and availability.

Some of these strategies may have adverse effects on their income generation and ability to respond to future shocks.

The survey revealed that 21.9 percent of the households nationwide had implemented crisis strategy to address the scarcity of food or financial constraints.

This was followed by stress strategies, and it is about 19.2 percent. Notably, in the rural sector, this crisis strategy used proportion rose to 22.8%percent of households.

During the survey, numerous households cited various reasons that led to the drop in their average monthly income.

The most frequently reported cause, accounting for 48.7 percent of respondents, was less working hours signifying a significant impact on household income.

People have found salaries, allowances and commissions reduced as the least reported reason among households for the decline in income levels.

As a result of the crisis, households have employed various coping strategies to mitigate its impact such as turning to a secondary job or an additional source of income.”

“Conversely, the least reported coping strategy among these households was loans, mortgages, or seeking food or money from others.”

It’s noteworthy that a substantial majority, comprising 73.6 percent of households facing reduced income, did not adopt any specific coping strategy during this period,” the Department says.

The survey which dealt with the impact on the people’s health says individuals facing unemployment or reduced incomes often encounter challenges in accessing necessary medical treatments and preventive care, leading to delays or unavoidable gaps in healthcare.

Colombo (LNW): Hambantota International Port (HIP) in November and December this year experienced a significant influx of cruise tourists, with over 6,000 disembarking during this period.

The port hosted five luxury liners, underscoring its growing appeal as an international travel destination.

The series of arrivals commenced on November 29th with the ‘Azamara Journey,’ bringing 620 guests.

On December 10th, the ‘Mein Schiff 5’ arrived from Muscat with 2,200 passengers, marking its second call to Sri Lanka in the year and the third overall visit to HIP.

Notably, passengers engaged in eco-friendly e-bike tours, aligning with HIP’s commitment to sustainable tourism.

The ‘Celebrity Millennium’ made two December calls, on the 5th and 16th, collectively bringing 3,500 tourists to Sri Lanka.

Concluding this sequence, the ‘Nautica’ arrived on December 19th with 498 visitors.

HIP experienced a successful year with around 22 cruise ship calls, surpassing initial estimates.

Cordelia Cruise Lines, operating holiday packages from Chennai, significantly contributed by bringing an estimated 7,500 tourists on their ‘Empress’ liner between June and September.

As vessels like the ‘Nautica’ and ‘Celebrity Millennium’ set sail for destinations like Phuket and Sabang, Indonesia, respectively, the festive cruise season continues.

The ‘Mein Schiff 5’ is destined for the Langkawi archipelago in Malaysia.