The 53 member nation, Commonwealth, will hold its, Youth Ministers Meeting in Colombo with the opening ceremonies on the 27th of April at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall.

Around 250 delegates including Ministers and Deputy Ministers have confirmed participation. The workshops and sessions will be held from the 28th to the 30th of April at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo.

Sri Lanka Tourism extends a warm welcome to all delegates attending the conference and look forward to delighting them with an introduction to the World Heritage Site and popularly known 8th wonder of the world – Sigirya.   

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Deputy Minister of Tourism Hon. Faizer Mustapha will lead the delegation to the 14th Arabian Travel Market in Dubai on May 6th.

The organizers are gearing up to present the Sri Lanka stall on a theme based on ‘Ceylon Tea’ and will also display other items of national pride – gems and jewellery and  handicrafts; with a craftsman in attendance. The Channa-Upuli Dance Foundation will also perform giving the visitors a glimpse of the rich cultural diversity of Sri Lanka.

National carrier SriLankan Airlines is scheduled to launch a special promotional programme titled “Middle East - Kids Go Free” at this event.   

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The 23rd Som Nath Chib Memorial Lecture; was an important feature of the recently concluded South Asian Travel and Tourism Exhibition 2008 held in New Delhi. The event proved to be a successful interactive session for leaders of the south Asian region’s tourism industry. 

Organized by the Inder Sharma Foundation, and chaired by Shilabhadra Banerjee, Secretary Tourism Government of India. Sri Lanka Tourism Chairman, Renton de Alwis delivered this year’s Som Nath Chib Memorial Lecture and spoke on “South Asian Tourism; the Way Ahead”. The response was delivered by Dr Shahzad Qaiser, Secretary Ministry of Tourism of Pakistan.  
 
Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India Romesh Jayasinghe, leaders of the tourism industry of India and senior Chib family members were among the distinguished invitees at the lecture. 

The Sri Lanka Tourism stall at the exhibition focused on the ‘Ramayana Trail’, a new and off the beaten track product, which attracted many inquiries and is expected to draw visitors in numbers, to explore the hitherto unexplored sites believed to be connected to Valmiki’s epic poetic work; The Ramayanaya.     

Repeat visitors to hotels of the Aitken Spence Group will join a group of privileged persons in the “Diamond Club” where they will be “Welcomed to a world of extended privileges”.

Malin Hapugoda Managing Director of the hotels sector of Aitken Spence explaining the programme said “The Diamond Club is our way of saying thank you to our loyal guests who have patronized our hotels over the years” For more details visit www.diamondclub.lk

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On a fact finding mission in Sri Lanka, a high level delegation from Swiss Air was hosted by their long term Sri Lankan partner and GSA  - Baurs Air Services.

General manager Swiss International Airlines – India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh Jean-Phillipe Bennoit said “The future is made of opportunities and Sri Lanka certainly is not lacking in them” . Marketing manager India and Sri Lanka Aditya Khullar added “I am very impressed, this is my first visit to Sri Lanka and can see the vast potential the country possesses”

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The Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management ( SLITHM) conducted a food promotion In Macao, last month, in a joint effort with Dilmah Tea, to promote the destination and Sri Lankan tea. 

Hosts: The Institute of Tourism Studies of Macao, which conducts this event annually, chooses a member institute of the Asia Pacific Educational and Training Institute in Tourism (APETIT) for this honour. SLIHTM made an impressive impact on the hosts by  showcasing  their talents and drew attention to the variety of the tourism offer in Sri Lanka.     

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In Geneva Palexpo, at the 36th International Exhibition of Inventions, Techniques, and Products which made the  ‘Genius Awards’; Sri Lanka won a Gold and two Silver medals.

The exhibition, held under the patronage of the Swiss Federal Government and the State of Geneva, is considered to be one of the world’s largest exhibitions for inventions. Out of 750 exhibitors from 45 countries and 1000 exhibits Sri Lanka’s W.D. Wijithapala won a Gold, A.S Dissnayake and Isuru Godage a Silver each.

Congratulations and best wishes to the winners. You have made Sri Lanka proud.    

Airbus Industries announced that SriLankan Airlines has been recognised for the Global Award for Operational Excellence. The award is made to small airlines which operate the Airbus A 340 aircraft.

On being informed of the award D. A. G. Jayasuriya, Senior Manager Aircraft Engineering said “We at SriLankan Airlines emphasize the need for the most efficient use of our aircraft, so as to provide the finest delay-free service to our passengers. We are delighted that our continuous efforts have been recognized as being among the best”       

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