Sri Lanka Travel Visa

Sunday 24 February 2019

Pakistan proposes Gandhara-Buddhist Study Center in Colombo University

Pakistan proposes Gandhara-Buddhist Study Center in Colombo University


Colombo, February 19 (newsin.asia): The High Commissioner of Pakistan, Major General (Retd.) Dr. Shahid Ahmad Hashmat, called on the Sri Lankan Minister for City Planning, Water Supply and Higher Education, Rauff Hakeem, on Monday and discussed prospects of establishing the Taxila Gandhara Civilization Study Centre at the University of Colombo.
The High Commissioner also informed the Minister that, with the view to highlight Gandhara Heritage and cultural links between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the High Commission of Pakistan will be organizing an international seminar in collaboration with the Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka in March this year.
High Commissioner of Pakistan, Major General (Retd.) Dr. Shahid Ahmad Hashmat with the Sri Lankan Minister for City Planning, Water Supply and Higher Education, Rauff Hakeem.
During the meeting, bilateral relations and areas of mutual interest and cooperation were discussed. The High Commissioner informed the Minister about Pakistan-Sri Lanka Higher Education Cooperation Programme under which numerous scholarships will be provided to Sri Lankan students in various fields.
The Lankan Minister for City Planning, Water Supply and Higher Education, Rauff Hakeem lauded the efforts of the High Commission and the Government of Pakistan for providing enormous opportunities to Sri Lankan youth for capacity building.

Saturday 23 February 2019

Sri Lanka to promote Buddhist Tourism Trail to attract tourists from Thailand

Sri Lanka to promote Buddhist Tourism Trail to attract tourists from Thailand


Colombo, Feb 19 (newsin.asia) – Sri Lanka’s Tourism Promotion Bureau has introduced a ‘Buddhism Tourism Trail’, a promotional website aiming to attract tourists from Thailand and other Theravada Buddhism countries, local media reported Tuesday.
Kshenuka Senewiratne, Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Thailand told the Bangkok Post the website was launched at the Thai International Travel Fair (TITF) held recently as about 90 percent of Thais were Theravada Buddhists.


Theravada known as Southern Buddhism is the oldest branch of Buddhism. It focuses on the teachings of the Lord Buddha through strict meditation and the eight fold path to enlightenment with the majority of followers in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar.
Kshenuka said the website will focus on Buddhist tourist attractions such as ancient temples, Buddha statues and meditation centers in Sri Lanka.
For example, she said the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in the central highlands of Kandy, a resting place for Lord Buddha’s tooth allegedly saved from his funeral pyre is a popular destination for many Buddhist and foreign tourists.
Sri Lanka, has in recent years transformed into a popular tourist destination with the highest number of tourists arriving from China, India and Britain.

Thursday 21 February 2019

Sri Lankan spices to enter new global markets in 2019

Sri Lankan spices to enter new global markets in 2019


Colombo, Feb 19 – Sri Lanka’s lucrative spice industry is targeting a revenue of US 500 million dollars in 2019 following its entry into new global markets as well as increasing exports of pepper, cloves, and nutmeg, local media reported Tuesday.
To achieve this target, the spice industry aims to export Sri Lanka’s popular cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, and cloves, to new markets such as Russia, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan this year, former Spice Council Chairman, Nanda Kohona told the local Daily FT, on the sidelines of the launching ceremony of the Global Spice Road Symposium.
According to Sri Lanka’s Central Bank, spices earned 330.3 million dollars in the first 11 months of 2018 but this was a 11.6 percent drop when compared to the same period in 2017.
In November alone, spice earnings dropped to 27.7 million dollars from 33.7 million dollars, which is a reduction
of 17.7 percent from 2017.
“Most of our cinnamon is exported to Mexico and South American countries, and a fair percentage goes to the European Union. We’re looking at new markets like Russia, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan, which are coming up now and looking for spices from Sri Lanka. The demand is not only for cinnamon but pepper, cloves and nutmeg as well,” Kohona said.
Cinnamon is the highest income earner for Sri Lanka’s spice sector followed by pepper.
Sri Lanka producers about 17,000 metric tons of cinnamon and 35,000 metric tons of pepper per year.
The spice industry expects production to recover on better weather conditions this year.

Sri Lanka to launch its first satellite in April


 Sri Lanka to launch its first satellite in April


Colombo, Feb 20 (newsin.asia) – Sri Lanka will launch its first ever satellite into space this April marking its entry into the global space age, officials from Sri Lanka’s Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education said here Wednesday.
The satellite, which will be named RAAVANA-1, is a research satellite built by two Sri Lankan students from the University of Peradeniya and the Arthur C Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies.
The satellite was designed and built at the Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan and is 1000 cubic centimeters in size and weighs 1.1 kilogram.
Local media reports said the RAAVANA-1 was officially handed over to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency on February 18, and will be sent to the International Space Station on April 17, through the assistance of Cygnus-1, a spacecraft from the United States.
The satellite is expected to fulfill five missions including the capturing of pictures of Sri Lanka and its surrounding regions.
The RAAVANA-1 is expected to orbit 400 kilometers away from earth. It will have a minimum lifespan of one and half years but is expected to be active for up to five years.

Tuesday 19 February 2019

Sri Lanka launches campaign to boost tourism during lean months

COLOMBO, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Tourism Ministry has launched a new travel campaign to promote the island as a "year round" tourist destination in order to boost arrivals during the lean months, local media reported on Wednesday.
Tourism Minister John Amaratunga said the campaign titled "Island Escapes" was launched with an investment of Rs. 65 million (400,000 U.S. dollars) and with the active participation of 33 industry stakeholders.
The campaign will be operational from September to November and April to June in order to increase arrivals.
Citing countries that had initiated such a campaign with fruitful outcomes, Amaratunga expressed confidence that "Island Escapes" would also be successful.
"We have seen countries like Singapore and Dubai do these kind of programs very successfully and based on the success of the campaign, we will fine-tune it next year," the minister said.
Over 1.5 million tourists have arrived in Sri Lanka between January to August this year.

Sri Lanka to promote Buddhist Tourism Trail to attract tourists from Thailand

Sri Lanka to promote Buddhist Tourism Trail to attract tourists from Thailand



Colombo, Feb 19 (newsin.asia) – Sri Lanka’s Tourism Promotion Bureau has introduced a ‘Buddhism Tourism Trail’, a promotional website aiming to attract tourists from Thailand and other Theravada Buddhism countries, local media reported Tuesday.
Kshenuka Senewiratne, Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Thailand told the Bangkok Post the website was launched at the Thai International Travel Fair (TITF) held recently as about 90 percent of Thais were Theravada Buddhists.


Theravada known as Southern Buddhism is the oldest branch of Buddhism. It focuses on the teachings of the Lord Buddha through strict meditation and the eight fold path to enlightenment with the majority of followers in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar.
Kshenuka said the website will focus on Buddhist tourist attractions such as ancient temples, Buddha statues and meditation centers in Sri Lanka.
For example, she said the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in the central highlands of Kandy, a resting place for Lord Buddha’s tooth allegedly saved from his funeral pyre is a popular destination for many Buddhist and foreign tourists.
Sri Lanka, has in recent years transformed into a popular tourist destination with the highest number of tourists arriving from China, India and Britain.

Sunday 17 February 2019

Once war-torn, Sri Lanka embraces tourists, from luxury travellers to backpackers

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Waves cartwheel onto a secluded beach, funnelling into a mangrove-fringed stream and gently pushing a boat in which a fisherman named Ranji carries the catch of the day.

Ranji, who has been fishing the waters off the south coast of Sri Lanka for the past 30 years, sets off every day at 3 a.m. and typically returns with a boat heavy with fish.

When he shows up with the bounty at Anantara Peace Haven Resort Tangalle, his biggest customer, a bell sounds, a simple testament to his hard work.

Ranji proffers a leaf-bottomed straw basket and we select a white mullet and a red-speckled grouper. The fish will soon be delicately deboned, marinated and presented as the main dish in a four-course lunch, served in a thatched-roof treehouse flanked by the stream and a rice-paddy field.
In an open-air kitchen, executive chef Chimanda Pathirana and his team prepare a fresh eggplant salad and beet carpaccio made from ingredients picked moments earlier from the sprawling organic vegetable garden.
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Executive chef Chimanda Pathirana picks vegetables for lunch from Anatara Peace Haven Resort Tangalle's organic garden. - Katie DeRosa, Times Colonist
This is the Harvest Table experience, the latest culinary invention of Anantara’s Peace Haven, located on a stretch of unspoiled coastline at the southern tip of Sri Lanka.
The three-year-old resort unfolds over 42 acres of a tropical coconut plantation, which is why the humble coconut features prominently during our stay. Coconut water is served from a smooth coconut shell upon arrival, which is also marked by a welcome drum ceremony performed by three traditional singers.
We’re flanked by a coastline that is part craggy cliffside, where the waves crash like shattered glass, and part golden beach, which looks ripped from a desert-island film.
Tangalle, which means “projected rock” in Sinhalese, is halfway between the colonial fort city of Galle and Yala National Park, the country’s largest national park, where leopards roam amid the elephants.
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The Anantara Peace Haven Resort Tangalle opened on Sri Lanka's pristine south coast in December 2016. - Katie DeRosa, Times Colonist
As we had bounced in the back of a tuk tuk — a small three-wheeled vehicle used as a taxi — between the more populated beach towns of Unawatuna and Mirissa en route to Tangalle, the sheer force of the Indian Ocean was omnipresent. It’s a constant reminder of the devastating tsunami on Boxing Day 2004 that killed more than 30,000 people.
Nilanka, an industrious 20-something tuk tuk driver from Unawatuna, was away in Kandy the day a 9.1-magnitude earthquake pushed a towering wave onto his hometown. It was weeks before he found out that his mother, father and brother had been killed, their humble residence destroyed. His tuk tuk, his source of livelihood, was also swept away by the wave. A friend living in Italy helped him raise the money for a Piaggio, which is kind of like the Mercedes of tuk tuks.
The wave indiscriminately wiped out coastal homes and businesses, but Nilanka said an influx of tourist dollars helped many residents who struggled to rebuild in the immediate aftermath.
• • •
Sri Lanka attracted 2.1 million visitors last year, a record for a country that just over a decade ago, was still locked in a brutal civil war.
The Tourism Development Authority hopes to double that by 2020, something Dilan Bandara, manager of Anantara Tangalle, believes is more than achievable.
Travel bible Lonely Planet has named Sri Lanka the best country in the world to visit in 2019. In anticipation of a tourist influx, global hotel chains are clambering to open new properties across the country and villagers are converting their homes into tourist guesthouses.
Bandara is confident Sri Lanka will outpace Bali as a destination for beaches, surfing and trekking. He’s speaking in the lounge of the resort’s cliffside restaurant, Il Mare, as we sip cocktails of smoked arrack, a whisky distilled from the sap of a coconut flower, flavoured with fresh pineapple juice and passionfruit.
Bandara, a native of Tangalle, says a new highway under construction will shorten the journey from Colombo to Tangalle, which he hopes will increase visitors to Tangalle’s beaches.
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Elephants graze in Udawalawe National Park, which covers about 310 square kilometres in Sri Lanka. - Katie DeRosa, Times Colonist
Sri Lanka’s attraction is its incredible biodiversity, Bandara says. “You can travel 1.5 hours out to sea, you’ll see the blue whale, the biggest creature in the sea. You travel 1.5 hours north, into the jungle, and you can see elephants, the biggest mammals on land.”
We take a walk with Anantara’s nature guru, Eddie, a binocular clad computer-scientist-turned-biologist with an encyclopedic knowledge of the country’s wildlife. He points out a monitor lizard, chameleons, langur monkeys, Indian Palm squirrels and dozens of species of dragonflies. Hanging out on the beach at the right time of day might afford you a glimpse of adorable baby turtles migrating from their sandy nesting areas to the sea. Anantara has partnered with the International Union for Conservation of Nature Sri Lanka to protect these globally threatened marine species.
We do catch a glimpse of the famed resident porcupine, which freezes us in our seats as she casually ambles by our dinner table one night, hovering next to my husband’s leg, her quills extended upward. We make no sudden movements and eventually she carries on, quills firmly in place.
• • • 
For a chance to see wildlife outside the comforts of the resort, we drive an hour and a half north of Tangalle, where Udawalawe National Park promises the opportunity to witness the humble majesty of elephants. We set out in the safari jeep before 6 a.m., just in time to catch a cotton-candy sunrise that tints the arid landscape a soft pink.
We pay our entrance fee to the national park ($88 Cdn for two people) and cast our eyes out over the expanse. Our driver, Predeep, a fresh-faced 21-year-old with a lead foot, points out pelicans, toucans, a painted stork, crested hawk eagles, egrets, jackals and foxes.
He gets a call on his mobile phone and catapults us forward, the jeep tipping back and forth over the potholed dirt roads. “Group of elephants,” he calls out, so we know what all the fuss is about.
After a few brisk turns and wading through waterlogged trenches I fear might swamp the jeep, we reach a herd of female elephants and their babies. They pay little attention to the swarm of safari jeeps, casually picking up grass with their trunks and shoveling it into their mouths.
Just before we exit the park, Predeep suddenly reverses the jeep down the bumpy dirt path, which confuses us until we see a large male elephant emerge from the bushes and stomp casually toward our vehicle, before making a turn to amble down the road.
Predeep says we are lucky to spot the massive bull. The experience of letting him come to us feels less intrusive than the pack of jeeps that surrounded the female herd.
The day after the safari, we pack our bags and head for Ella, a village in the hill country best known for the colonial-era Nine Arch Bridge. Our lodging is at the Ella Hide View, a family-run guest house accessed by a steep winding road that almost defeats a battered, suitcase-laden tuk tuk.
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A train crosses the Nine Arch Bridge near Ella. The town is about 200 kilometres east of Colombo, Sri Lanka's capital. - Katie DeRosa, Times Colonist
The accommodation is humble but the main draw is, as the name suggests, the view. The entire guest house perches on the side of a hill, looking out onto the Little Ravana waterfall and a velvety green valley called the Ella Gap.
From the two hanging wicker chairs on our room’s balcony, we watch sunrises, torrential rains, thunderstorms and rainbows. It’s October, near the end of the country’s monsoon season, but the rains are hard, fast and predictable, making it easy to avoid getting drenched.
Our routine for the four days in Ella works like this: Up at sunrise, an early breakfast to fuel trekking, and exploring the town until about noon. At that point, it’s a smart idea to tuck into a local café or head back to the guesthouse before the rain buckets down.
At night, with no light pollution, the hills become a blackened mystery, a darkness that amplifies the cacophony of jungle sounds, the rhythmic buzzing of cicadas and the chirp of crickets.
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A view of Ella Rock during a trek through the hill country. - Katie DeRosa, Times Colonist
The main village is easily accessible via a set of concrete stairs (easier going down than up) and a five-minute walk down the railroad tracks, which, despite being well-used by passenger and cargo trains, double as a sidewalk for locals and brave tourists.
The walk to the village leads us past humble homes in various states of construction. Dumidu Sampath, whose family opened the guest house four years ago, says there’s a flurry of building as many villagers convert living spaces into guest houses to accommodate the crush of tourists. The industriousness has created tension in the neighbourhood, Sampath says, with some frustrated that their quiet lifestyle is being opened up to camera-toting backpackers.
“It’s good for the economic side, but for neighbours…” says Sampath, rubbing his fists together in a sign of friction.
Ranjith Peris, the 30-something manager at a hip café called Starbeans, a riff on Starbucks, looks at travellers sipping lattes while paging through Sri Lanka travel guides.

Saturday 16 February 2019

Sri Lanka awaits nod for delayed tourism zones


Sri Lanka is keeping its hopes alive to create tourism zones in Dedduwa, Kuchchaveli and Kalpitiya, with final discussions expected to be held this week, a top official said.

"We have to wait for a policy decision from the cabinet," Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Director General Upali Ratnayake said.

"We will have the final discussion tomorrow after which we will prepare a cabinet paper to be forwarded," he said on February 06.

Ratnayake said a decision has to be taken on how the lands would be allocated for investors.

The Dedduwa project will take up to 1,800 hectares, according to the SLTDA website.

Kuchchaveli Beach Resort, on the country's North East coast was to take up 445 acres. Earlier plans envisaged leasing land to investors for 99 years.

The Kalpitiya Dutch Bay Resort project was to give investors access to 14 islands, totalling 4,133.2 acres.

However, the projects have faced delays over the past years.

Two tourism zones in Passikudah and Yala were completed successfully, Ratnayake said. (Colombo/Feb07/2019 - SB)


Source

Thursday 14 February 2019

South Africa seek to continue home dominance as ailing Sri Lanka visit

South Africa will look to extend their unbeaten home run in Test against Sri Lanka


HIGHLIGHTS


  • The first Test of the two-match series begin Wednesday in Durban
  • The second Test match is at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth
  • Sri Lanka beat South Africa 2-0 in their own backyard last July
  • South Africa will be expected to continue their recent dominance over touring sides when they host ailing Sri Lanka in a two-Test series starting at Kingsmead on Wednesday.
  • Their recent 3-0 sweep of Pakistan was South Africa's seventh successive home Test series victory, a run that included a triumph over number one ranked India and a 3-0 whitewash of the Sri Lankans on their last tour in the 2016/17 season.
  • Their supremacy has been built around a fierce fast-bowling attack and lively wickets, the opposite of the conditions they faced when they lost 2-0 in Sri Lanka last July.
  • Although the Kingsmead pitch is expected to be slower and take more turn than it has in the past, the Proteas will be overwhelming favourites against a Sri Lanka side that were well beaten in Australia last month and have not won a game in any format since October.
  • "Whichever team comes here we're pretty much going to try to dominate them," Proteas spinner Keshav Maharaj told reporters.
  • "Every series you play you want to be dominant and whitewash the opposition. Playing here, this should be our fortress. When people come here they should be on the back foot when they do take the field."
  • Maharaj played the first Test against Pakistan but was dropped for the next two as selectors went for an all-seam attack.
  • He may have more of a role to play in this series, which also includes a Test at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth, a wicket that traditionally takes turn.
  • "At Kingsmead it's not your swing and fast bowling wicket that we were used to 10 or 15 years ago. The wicket will wear down and slow down significantly, I would say. I think it's just a patience game at Kingsmead now.
  • "It's a little bit slower than expected. But with the sun about, it may make the wicket harden up and get a little bit quicker than what we're used to as well."
  • DISARRAY
  • Sri Lanka have arrived in some disarray, having dropped experienced captain Dinesh Chandimal and with media reporting there are rifts between the board and coach Chandika Hathurusingha, who has been removed as an on-tour selector.
  • Whatever the nature of the wickets, Hathurusingha acknowledges that the series will depend on how his side handle South Africa's vaunted pace attack that includes Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Duanne Olivier.
  • "I'm relying on the players who have been with us. Dimuth Karunaratne is the captain, so he has to lead from the front," Hathurusingha told cricket website ESPNCricinfo.com.
  • "He's one of the best batters with Kusal Mendis. Him, Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella, who is in good form, have to stand up.
  • "Lahiru Thirimanne, who has come back into the team, has a lot of experience.
  • "I think we have to rely on experience on this tour. Those guys have to step up."

  • Source

Wednesday 13 February 2019

Sri Lanka to take sports tourism towards new dimension




Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) will be making inroads towards sports tourism, by supporting the internationally acclaimed adventure sporting event ‘Adventure Racing World Championship’ which will take place on 13 December this year.
This will be the first time Sri Lanka Tourism will be hosting an international expedition adventure race, consisting of many adventure activities such as trekking, cycling, paddling and navigation. Preparations are currently underway for this mega event, which will be vital in positioning the country as an adventure and sports tourism destination, whilst encouraging more tourist arrivals for the sporting event. 

A team representing the AR World Championships met the Minister of Tourism Development, Wildlife and Christian Religious Affairs, John Amaratunga recently in the presence of officials from the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), representatives of the Tri-forces and ministry officials regarding the event. 

During their stay in the country, the AR World Championships team, will fine tune the best possible course, prepare for the safest delivery of the race, and meet with event partners. The entries for this event will open on 15 February, where teams from all around the world will be encouraged to apply. The participants are poised to have an unforgettable experience that will see a fusion of the best of Sri Lankan cuisines, the most picturesque locations in the country, a dose of culture and the warmth hospitality of its people. 

The team is lead and coordinated by Craig Bycroft and Louise Foulkes, Directors of the AR World Series with a team that they have handpicked and put together for the event. 

The pair have managed the AR World Series across six continents for many years now and planned and staged two previous World Championships. Bycroft will be the Race Director and Foulkes will manage the media and live coverage of the event. Other officials include Santiago Lopez, Logistics Manager, Igor Dorotic, course manager, Brad Baumber, Medical and communications manager and Safety Officer Jarad Kohlar. 

The AR World Series unites in competition the world’s best endurance athletes at premiere Qualifier events around the globe. The racing calendar culminates annually at the AR World Championship where these teams compete for the title of World Champion. Over 500 people travel to the AR World Championship including 75 teams of four athletes, (300) media, staff, volunteers, family and friends. With an estimated visitation of 6,000 bed nights, this event brings a value of $ 1.5 million spent in the local economy. This will no doubt boost the country’s economy as well as enhancing the tourism sector. 

The AR championship is watched live through the online tracking portal by an international audience over 100,000 spectators. A one-hour television documentary, distributed to sports and lifestyle networks, will be aired over 100 countries and to one billion homes worldwide, giving an exclusive media coverage to Sri Lanka by including extensive post card shots of the destination. 

Sri Lanka tourist arrivals grows 2.2% in Jan.


 Dirty sewage threatens Sri Lanka’s golden beaches



Colombo, Feb 12 (newsin.asia) – Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka grew 2.2 percent in January compared to the same period last year with the arrival of 244,239 tourists, statistics from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority showed here Tuesday.
The leading markets for Sri Lanka tourism were India, China and Britain.
China accounted for 11 percent of the total traffic, while India accounted for 16 percent and Britain also 11 percent.
This year, the Sri Lankan government has set a target to attract 3 million tourists with an earning of 5 billion US dollars.
In 2018, Sri Lanka welcomed 2,333,796 visitors, up 10.3 percent from a year earlier.