The newly formed Sri Lanka Tourism Authority headed by Renton de Alwis a former vice president of PATA is gearing up to wow visitors to UK’s largest tourism fair with the latest offer from destination Sri Lanka a landline no other with its newest brand image Tourism Earth Lung.

“We have a genuine product and we will position ourselves accordingly and the world will take notice of our efforts as we pioneer in the right direction” said de Alwis going on to reiterate “Sri Lankan hoteliers have won regional awards for their work in Eco Tourism and scientists’ world recognition. Our own unique initiative ‘Towards a Carbon Free Sri Lanka: A Tourism Earth Lung’ is for the good of everybody.”

A 127 member delegation from 45 private sector organizations in Sri Lanka will make a significant presence this year when Sri Lanka showcases it self as a Green destination committed to sustainable conservation.

Sri Lankans’ formed a larger part of the India Sri Lanka Goodwill Orchestra which performed under the baton of Japanese conductor Yazaki Hikotaro. The audience was captivated by the Sri Lankan item ‘Svarasanga Vannama’ a feast of sounds for orchestra; piano and Sri Lankan drums that alternates between improvisations at one time and folk rhythms at another. Harsha Makalanda the composer and pianist accompanied by Ravibandhu Vidyapathi on the Getaberaya and Jananath Warakagoda on the Thammattama.

Along with Sri Lanka and India the KBS Symphony from Korea and the Kunming Symphony Orchestra from China were privileged to perform at this highly prestigious event in Tokyo.

Sri Lanka Calling is proud to announce, that the world’s first eco friendly fabric and apparel manufacturing plant is MAS Fabric. A Sri Lankan family owned company world renowned for best business practises began operations on their latest venture last week, in Thulhiriya, in the North Central province of Sri Lanka.

The eco – friendly manufacturing zone commanding an investment of over $25 million, has installed water and effluent treatment with chemical treatment plants and the whole theme will be based on reuse and recycle. The company will go beyond and share the benefits of the technology with the farming community in the neighbourhood, as they have done in the past with their previous ventures in other parts of the country.

40 chefs from Curry Leaf Restaurant of Colombo Hilton joined in the preparation of a 2100 Kilogramme Kottu, likely to be the first of its kind in the world. A fund raiser cum fun event the “ The 2100 kg Kottu” was a joint celebration of a Sri Lankan food and the hotel’s 21st anniversary in Sri Lanka. All proceeds from the event will go to the Ceylon School for the Deaf and Blind a charity run by the diocese of Colombo.

William Costley General Manager Colombo Hilton on the promotion and on Sri Lanka “The Kottu promotion is a great tourist attraction as it creates awareness of Sri Lanka’s rich heritage in food, dance and entertainment, that makes this paradise island a great place to visit.” Colombo Hilton continues its special 21st anniversary celebrations visit www.colombohilton.com for more details

Arugam Bay, situated away from the formal tourism sector is unique in its very setting and its people have shown great resilience in the face of many hardships. The recognition of being one of three finalists for the Best Destination award at the World Trade Market Tourism Fair 2007 comes as no surprise in the wake of the work done by the Responsible Tourism Partnership (Sri Lanka) , Sewalanka Foundation and other organizations working for the development of this coastal village.

The Responsible Tourism Awards at WTM will recognize and reward those who are committed to making a significant contribution to the culture and economies of local communities, taking leadership in bio diversity and conservation programmes.

The Best Destination Award is the most prestigious and is awarded to the resort, village, or an entire country that manages tourism efficiently for the long term benefit of tourists, the environment and the local people.

The most recent success story of Sri Lanka Tourism’s initiatives came from the ‘World Spice Food Festival 2007’ and its Hawker Street food promotion which ran last week with 15 signature chefs serving cuisine from Lebanese pita breads to Australian barbecued steaks. Upali de Silva, Director Corporate Affairs of Sri Lanka Tourism airing his views on the event “Our hard work was well rewarded. On the 19th around 1300 persons visited the Hawker Street Food Fair at Nomads Grounds and on the second day it being Saturday in spite of the rain and the grounds being wet there were more than 2000 people excluding children and all the food sold out well before time”