The Embassy and Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka together with Aitken Spence Travels promoted Sri Lanka as a unique tourist destination to 20 leading tours operators in Austria at the Embassy on 6 June 2023.
Delivering the welcome remarks, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka Majintha Jayesinghe highlighted the distinctive splendors of Sri Lanka. While speaking of the many attractions, the Ambassador ensured assistance to Austrian travel agencies.
During his presentation, Assistant General Manager of Aitken Spence Travels, Sampath Perera highlighted the unexplored touristic attributes and attractions that Sri Lanka poses to potential Austrian tourists and travellers while presenting detailed information in categories such as culture, wildlife, adventure, beaches, festivals, ayurveda, and UNESCO designated heritage sites. A number of fascinating promotional videos on Sri Lanka were also screened.
At the event, Managing Director of Aitken Spence Travels Nalin Jayasundera elaborated the contribution of Aitken Spence Travels in destination promotion and invited attendees to facilitate and encourage potential tourists to visit Sri Lanka during the upcoming holiday season.
A raffle was drawn at the event where the grand prize was offered by the prestigious Aitken Spence hotel chain. Sri Lankan traditional refreshments together with world famous Ceylon tea were served to the travel agents.
Austria is placed among the potential markets for tourism in Sri Lanka and during the first four months of 2023 Sri Lanka received 3411 tourists from Austria. Being a leading conglomerate in the hospitality sector in Sri Lanka, Aitken Spence maintains a solid clientele in the European market.
Colombo (LNW): In a move to provide an efficient service to passengers, an Automated Border Control (ABC) system is to be established at the Katunayake Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA).
Funded as per an order by the Cabinet, an agreement was signed between the BIA and the Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) (Pvt.) Ltd. (AASL).
The basic facilities required for the unit was provided by the Department of Immigration and Emigration, and the project will be jointly carried out by the AASL and the Department.
In the initial stage of the project, two automated Immigration-Emigration Gates (eGates) will be set up at the departure terminal, and two more at the arrival terminal within a period of eight months.
Colombo (LNW): Former Minister Naveen Dissanayake will be appointed as the new Governor for the Sabaragamuwa Province, said Deputy Leader of the United National Party (UNP) and President’s Advisor Ruwan Wijewardena, speaking to reporters after attending an authority board meeting of the Party in Biyagama recently.
Dissanayake will be appointed as the new Governor for the Sabaragamuwa Province next Tuesday (13), the UNP Deputy Leader revealed.
PMD: President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that it is the aim of the Government to maximize the contribution of tourism in order to achieve the development goals of the country.
Sri Lanka’s unique Culinary Art has attracted tourist from all over the world and maximum Government support will be extended to its promotion, the President mentioned.
The President made this statement while declaring open the Culinary Art Food Expo (CAFÉ) 2023 yesterday (09) at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) premises in Colombo.
The Chefs Guild of Lanka organizes the Culinary Art and Food Exhibition, which showcases the talent of culinary artists from all over Sri Lanka.
This year’s exhibition consists of 88 product and service booths and the President also joined in observing the booths. The President was also engaged in a cordial conversation with the chefs who participated in the exhibition, also inquired about the issues they were facing.
The President also said that many new programs will be implemented for the advancement of the field, including the establishment of a Culinary Art school and the introduction of a system for ranking chefs.
Further speaking President Ranil Wickremesinghe said;
First of all, I must thank you for inviting me to this exhibition. And what you have displayed here fits in with the growth policy of the Government. The growth policy of the Government includes tourism to double and in first stage the numbers to go up to 5 million. Secondly, increase their revenue per tourist, which means we have to now go to the high end tourists.
Some are worried whether it is a difficult jump to make. I don’t think you have any option. We have a large number of human resources leaving the country because it is far more attractive elsewhere. We have at least got to match Maldives in the remuneration. Otherwise you can’t run a tourist industry.
That can only be done if we are prepared to increase the rate thereby. But to do that we must give a good service. There are many aspects; But remember, one that is common to all is cuisine. The tourists are coming here because they are interested in cuisine.
As far as the suppliers are concerned, we would like you to remain in a high standard and even go have a higher standard, be able to make a mark that somehow you can even export some of your products to other countries.
We have to ensure that we have a sufficient number of tests in this country as the industry expands. Unfortunately, at the moment we haven’t. We have no means of satisfying the demand. So the Government will certainly help different hotels and associations to expand the number. Don’t expect the Government to do it. We don’t. We can’t cater to that market that is required. So that has to be done by the non-Government sector and we are certainly willing to help.
We will also help by starting one school, specifically for cuisine and culinary work. So that’s what we can do. I hope that the others will take up. There has been a demand in the South. I think we can have one in Nuwara Eliya, Bandarawela, Ella and Dambulla. We can help ensure you to get chefs from abroad who also have the experience to ensure that their knowledge and the experience is passed onto the younger members of this profession.
Secondly, I think we should have some system of grading our chefs. So why don’t we have international standards and give a few stars? I think when the new tourist policy is announced it is a matter that you will have to discuss with the Ministry of Tourism.
I would like to see some of the private entrepreneurs coming forward. You can’t develop the tourist industry without developing the human resources.
It is useless giving tax incentives for hotels if they haven’t got the manpower for the kitchens. So the Government is willing to help and to work together with, most probably in the next two months, announce our new policies and you will be surprised at what changes we are going to make. And similarly your association and others involved in the tourist trade will get together I presume, to help us go forward.
Remember, we have a good future and we do so by developing the young talent we have. All those people here should one day become good chefs and I hope work in Sri Lanka. But we have to ensure the conditions here are conducive to them for staying in the country.
Chef Gerard Mendis, Chairman, Chefs Guild of Lanka
First of all, let me welcome all of you for one of the most challenging events; ‘CAFE 2023’ that we will stage. When I say challenging since 2019, we were not able to stage the event due to the COVID and many issues that we faced.
However, this year we took a bold decision. In fact, we took a chance wondering whether we would have the response that we normally have had in the past. However, the response has been great for this event considering the situation that the country has been in. And believe me; I had my doubts as well because the tourism sector was the hardest hit. And I will say I agree 100% that we have come from it much faster than we ever thought we would.
And we have to thank the President solely and its supportive government that made it happen. There were many businesses that had to close down, but you can see many of them also opening. Now, our main objective in the scale of Lanka is to fly the image of our chefs’ sky high. And secondly, we have a commitment to train and develop as Sri Lankans in the industry.
Chef Thomas Gugler, President, World Association of Chefs Societies, Shiran Peiris, Managing Director, Asriel Marketing (Pvt) Ltd, Duminda Kotalawala, General Manager, C W MACKIE PLC, Anuruddha Aluvihara, Country Head, Upfield Lanka Sales (Pvt) Ltd, David Ablet, Country Head, S4IG, Akmal Wickremaratne, Director, Pelwatte Dairy Industries Ltd. also attended the the event.
Colombo (LNW): The cyclonic storm “BIPARJOY” which spends a very severe state at the moment over East-Central Arabian Sea was located at 1130 hours of 10th June, 2023 near latitude 16.8 degrees North and longitude 67.4 degrees East, and may intensify further and move nearly north northeastwards during Sunday (11), warned the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of the Department of Meteorology in a statement.
The naval and fishing communities are advised not to venture into the sea areas bounded by (10N – 20N) and between (62E – 72E) until further notice, and are urged to be attentive to future forecasts issued by the Department in this regard, the statement added.
Meanwhile, showers or thundershowers will occur at times in Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces and in Galle and Matara districts, and fairly heavy showers above 50mm are likely at some places in the Sabaragamuwa Province and in Galle, Matara, Colombo and Kalutara districts, the Dept said in its daily weather forecast today (11).
Several spells of showers may occur in North-Western province and in Kandy and Nuwara- Eliya districts, and showers or thundershowers will occur at several places in Uva province and in Ampara and Batticaloa districts during the evening or night.
Strong winds about (40-45) kmph can be expected at times in western slope of the central hills, Northern and North-Central provinces and in Hambantota, Puttalam and Trincomalee districts.
General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimise damages caused by temporary localised strong winds and lightning during thundershower.
Marine Weather:
Condition of Rain: Showers or thundershowers will occur at several places in the sea areas off the coast extending from Puttalam to Matara via Colombo and Galle. Winds:
Winds will be south-westerly over sea area around the island and speed will be (25-35) kmph.
Wind speed may increase up to (50-60) kmph at times in the sea areasoff the coast extending from Puttalam to Trincomalee via Mannar and Kankasanthurai and from Hambantota to Pottuvil. Wind speed may increase up to (40-50) kmph at times in the sea areasoff the coast extending from Puttalam to Hambantota via Colombo and Galle.
State of Sea: The sea areasoff the coast extending from Puttalam to Trincomalee via Mannar and Kankasanthurai and from Hambantota to Pottuvil will be rough at times. The sea areasoff the coast extending from Puttalam to Hambantota via Colombo and Galle will be fairly rough at times.
Temporarily strong gusty winds and very rough seas can be expected during thundershowers.
Colombo (LNW):Ceylon Graphene Technologies (CGT), a Sri Lanka based start-up company, is driving export revenue for Sri Lanka by expanding and commercializing its graphene production as this wonder material enhanced industrial led acid batteries are about to hit the market, two high officials of the firm disclosed .
CGT is a joint venture between the Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC), a research agency backed by the government, and private partners in which LOLC group owns 85 per cent of CGT and SLINTEC 15 per cent.
LOLC Advance Technologies Ltd and HydroGraph Clean Power Incorporation, a commercial manufacturer of high-quality graphene, has recently entered into a Letter of Intent (LOI) to commercialize a jointly developed graphene blend that has shown significant improvements in battery performance.
CGT has developed a technology to convert vein graphite into graphene and it has expanded commercial production to cater to the needs of Exide, an Indian battery maker, which would be among the first customers of the company who will make an end-user product, a top official of the company disclosed.
Chief Executive of CGT, Manju Gunawardana, said that a graphene applied lead-acid industrial battery has already been developed, which outperforms conventional batteries. It will be commercially rolled out in the near future, he added.
The fully functional plant located in Homagama has the capacity to produce 30 metric tonnes of graphene each year, he disclosed adding that they are actively collaborating with various partners and institutions to fulfill their vision of graphene-enhanced products and technologies.
As a result, the company firmly believes that the world is on the verge of embracing this remarkable material in everyday applications, leading to a surge in demand that can be met by manufacturers like CGT, who possess the necessary scale and capability to meet the market’s needs, he opined.
Estimates from the Graphene Council indicate that this value will be further increased to US$125 million, with a projected growth to $300 million by 2027.
It is important to note that once commercial breakthroughs take place in various industries, it could have a drastic impact on the market, potentially leading to a significant increase in its overall value, Danesh Abeyrathne CEO LOLC Advanced Technologies divulged.
He said with such stellar game-changing results, Hydro Graph and CGT agreed to commercialize this product and pursue the lead acid battery market, projected to be worth more than $47 billion by 2030, driven in part by electric vehicle dependency on the product.
The partnership will leverage their expertise in graphene production to accelerate commercialization and drive adoption of the technology.
Colombo (LNW):Net foreign investments into Government Securities have topped the $ 350 million mark, the Central Bank revealed last week.
Of the amount, $ 140 million had been in April and $ 106 million in May. According to Wealth Trust Securities, the foreign holding in rupee bonds was seen increasing by Rs. 6.13 billion for the week ending 1 June 2023 to record its 16th consecutive week of inflows totalling Rs. 141.88 billion.
However some analysts speculated that some of the inflows could be “hot money” amidst uncertainty over the previously prevalent interest rate regime amidst efforts to deal with the Domestic Debt Restructuring (DDR)/Domestic Debt Optimization. The latter originally created upward pressure on rates in the debt market.
Weighted average rates at the Treasury Bill auction decreased across the board for the first time only in the week ended 19 May after six weeks of gain. However the CBSL last week reduced policy rates by 250 basis points, first ever downward revision in nearly three years.
This led to a drop in overnight call money and repo rates to 13.97% and 14.00% respectively for the last two trading days of the week against its 16.47% and 16.50% for the first three days of the week.
Another cause for possible hot money inflow is the speculation on the exchange rate which had appreciated by 24% year to date.
The CBSL last week expressed the hope that yields on government securities are expected to decline further with risk premia could subside substantially with the announcement of the DDO operation.
In terms of the currency, the CBSL attributed the appreciation of the rupee to positive market sentiments, underpinned by the improvement in liquidity in the domestic forex market. CBSL had mopped up $ 1.7 billion worth of forex, year to date.
It also said the continuation of the IMF program, further financial assistance from development partners and renewed investor appetite, coupled with the advances in the debt restructuring process, are expected to ease the BOP constraint significantly in the period ahead.
Colombo (LNW):Hayleys Agriculture assigns ALT X to develop complete brand strategy and visual identity for the ‘CocoLife by Hayleys’ coconut product range
Altered Experience (ALT X), Sri Lanka’s award-winning design thinking consultancy for the age of convergence, has been selected by Hayleys Agro to design and deliver a complete brand toolkit comprising of brand strategy and visual identity to launch their new coconut-based brand named “CocoLife by Hayleys”.
Primarily aimed at the international market, CocoLife by Hayleys will include a diverse range of organic coconut products that are cruelty-free, sustainable, and ethically manufactured in the certified facilities of Hayleys Agriculture.
Unlike conventional marketing approaches, ALT X used human centric principles and a data driven format combined with behavioural science to deliver a comprehensive branding solution that is guaranteed to make a significant impact once the product range hits the market.
Jayanthi Dharmasena – Managing Director of Hayleys Agriculture Holdings stated, “When seeking a partner to launch our new brand CocoLife by Hayleys, we were keen to find one that is capable of understanding the importance of taking a human-centric approach.
ALT X is one of the premier design thinking consultancies in Sri Lanka that has won multiple awards and boasts of an impressive client portfolio.
Kabeer Rafaideen – Founding CEO of ALT X stated, “We are excited about being presented with the opportunity to work with one of Sri Lanka’s largest conglomerates that has made their mark both locally and internationally.
ALT X has successfully delivered world-class solutions for clients and thereby won international acclaim. ALT X’s client portfolio includes brands such as Westinghouse, Traffi UK, Kodak, Ava Water in Saudi Arabia, Rainco Sri Lanka, AXIA UK, Aurora RCM USA, Elle & Eswaran Brothers.
Hayleys Agriculture has been spearheading the agricultural sector in Sri Lanka since the 1950’s and is the largest exporter of processed fruits and vegetables in Sri Lanka. As an industry pioneer in innovation and sustainability, the company remains a dominant player in the country’s agricultural sector, offering many products and services to the local and export markets.
In a significant development, His Lordship Justice Sobhitha Rajakaruna took the oath of office today before His Excellency the President, assuming the role of Acting President of the Court of Appeal. This appointment comes as the current President of the Court of Appeal is currently out of the country.
Justice Sobhitha Rajakaruna, a highly esteemed legal figure with a wealth of experience in the judiciary, will be entrusted with the responsibilities of the Court of Appeal during this period. This appointment reflects the confidence placed in Justice Rajakaruna’s capabilities and knowledge to preside over the Court of Appeal’s proceedings in the absence of the President.
