SRI LANKA’S WILDLIFE SANCTUARY SITES REOPENED FOR TOURISM

January 31, 2010  10:10 am

Two of Sri Lanka’s renowned wildlife sanctuary sites were reopened on Saturday after years of closure because of the conflict between the government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels, a government official said.

Ananda Wijesuriya, director of the Wildlife Conservation Department said the two sites were opened to the public on Saturday were located at southeastern and eastern parts of the island.

Kumana, a bird sanctuary and a main eco-tourism attraction, is 312 km southeast of the Colombowhile Lahugala, a wildlife park/ sanctuary reserve, is 318 km east of the capital.

They have been shut for tourists since 2005 when the fighting between the two sides escalated.

Both areas were under security clouds due to clashes until May last year when the rebels were defeated.

“After the end of the war we received security clearance,” Wijesuriya said.

The end to the civil conflict has made Sri Lanka a major tourism attraction, the tourism authority said.

Xinhua

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Sri Lanka No. 1 travel destination for 2010

Daily Candy Website proclaims 'Best place we've ever been'

The New York Times has named Sri Lanka as the No. One travel destination worldwide in a ranking of '31 Places To Go in 2010.' At the same time, Daily Candy, a luxury-living website, has devoted its entire travel issue to Sri Lanka, informing the readers that you'll be roaming the south for adventure (elephant safaris), history (colonial fort towns, old Buddhist temples), rain forests (and mountains and tea plantations), and beautiful beaches. It's pretty much the best place we've ever been.
Both articles note that security is no longer a concern since the recent successful conclusion of the conflict with the LTTE terrorists last year.
Tourism in Sri Lanka leaped forward in the last seven months, increasing at double digit rates each month since June 2009. Sri Lankan tourism officials plan to add 25,000 3-to-5 star hotel rooms to the island nation of 20 million people by 2016, many of them luxurious beach and mountainside accommodations like the ones the two articles rave about.
Sri Lanka expects more than 500,000 visitors in 2010, but more than two million annually six years from now. But while the number of tourists are increasing, the total number of visitors have yet to catch up with other Asian destinations. That makes Sri Lanka an affordable, relatively undiscovered gem, giving travellers a world unto themselves.
"People are discovering how wonderful Sri Lanka truly is," said Jaliya Wickramasuriya, Sri Lanka's ambassador to the U.S. We have many people to thank for making this country a peaceful, pleasant and prosperous place to live in. The leaders who successfully ended a long-war against terrorists now welcome tourists and foreign friends with open arms. Sri Lankans living abroad spread the goodwill and charm of the native land. As these articles proclaim, 'Sri Lanka is a beautiful place that is getting better.'
The Times reports that, 'The island, with a population of just 20 million, feels like one big tropical zoo: elephants roam freely, water buffaloes idle in paddy fields and monkeys swing from trees.
And then there's the pristine coastline. The miles of sugary white sand flanked by bamboo groves that were off-limits to most visitors until recently are a happy, if unintended byproduct of the war.'
Daily Candy observes: 'Sri Lanka is incredibly chic, very India meets Vietnam.
The Times reports that visitors can find pristine beaches -and still a few road checkpoints - in Northern Sri Lanka, where the fighting occurred. While a few military checkpoints remain, it reports, travellers can lounge on poolside hammocks under palm trees or snorkel in its crystal-clear waters.
Or they can order cocktails at the Nilaveli Beach Hotel a collection of recently renovated bungalows with private terraces.
Daily Candy takes readers on a cross-country tour of Sri Lanka, suggesting stops at Kandy, highland tea gardens and beaches, such as those in Tangalle and Galle. The swank Amanwella compound, consists of bungalows scattered across a coconut grove outside Tangalle. But the prices are more affordable than Aman's usual rates (a rare civil war perk).
Force yourself away from the blissful beach to visit Udawalawe National Park. You'll see monkeys and peacocks, but elephants are the main event.

The Sri Lankan National Flag

When Vijaya, the first King of the island of Sri Lanka, arrived in Sri Lanka from India in 486 BC, he brought with him a flag with a symbol of a lion on it. Since then the Lion symbol played a significant role in the history of Sri Lanka. It was used extensively by monarchs who followed King Vijaya and it became a symbol of freedom and hope. When the legendary King Dutugemunu embarked on the campaign in which he defeated the Tamil King Elara, who had occupied part of Sri Lanka, he carried with him a banner which portrayed a lion carrying a sword on his right forepaw along with two other symbols, the Sun and the Moon. King Dutugemunu's Flag Flag of the Kandyan Kingdom (1469 – 1815) Bands of green and orange added in 1951 The Flag as of today – pinnacles replaced by Bo leaves The banner was in use until 1815, when the reign of the last king of the Kandyan Kingdom, King Sri Vikrama Rajasinha, was brought to an end with the Kandyan nobility's signing of the Kandy convention on March 2 proclaiming King George III as King of Ceylon and replacing the Lion Flag with the Union Flag as the national flag of Ceylon. The government of British Ceylon used its own flag. The Lion Flag was taken to England and kept at the Royal Hospital Chelsea. As the years passed, the design of the flag was forgotten by the Sri Lankan public. Then, as the independence movement in Sri Lanka gained strength in the early 20th century, E. W. Perera, a prominent figure of the independence movement with the help of D. R. Wijewardene, owner of the Sinhala newspaper 'Dinamina' discovered the original Lion Flag kept at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, UK. A picture of it was subsequently published in a special edition of the Dinamina newspaper to mark 100 years since the end of Sri Lankan independence. The Lion flag then became a centrepiece of attraction to the public, who for the first time since the fall of the Kandyan Kingdom were now aware of its actual design. The first Prime Minister of independent Ceylon Hon. D.S. Senanayake, hoisted the Lion Flag at the ceremony on February 4, 1948. This flag depicted a yellow lion holding a sword in the right hand, facing the hoist, on a dark red background, with a yellow border, with four pinnacles of a Buddhist dagaba in the four corners. The National Flag Committee was formed in March 1948 and on March 2, 1951, the Lion Flag was accepted, with a few changes as the country's National Flag. Two vertical bands, one green and the other orange, were included in the flag to represent the Muslim and Tamil communities respectively. Finally in 1972, when the country adopted the local name of Sri Lanka, the flag was modified once more, with four stylized leaves of the Bo (Pipul) tree, a Buddhist symbol, added to the four corners to replace the four pinnacles. In 1978, the leaves were made more natural. Symbolism of the Lion Flag The lion The Sinhalese ethnicity and the strength of the nation The Bo leaves Buddhism and its influence on the nation. They also stand for the four virtues of Kindness (Mettha), Compassion (Karuna), Equanimity (Upeksha) and (Muditha) Happiness. Sword The soverignty of the nation Vertical Orange stripe The Tamil community Vertical green stripe The Muslim community Yellow border People from other cultures living in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Tourism and CNN Collaborate on Global Campaign

The launch of the website www.visitsrilanka-2011.com for the CNN global campaign will be launched tomorrow as part of a wider and comprehensive global communication campaign which began in November 2009. A press release from the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) said the website is interactive and is designed in such a manner that users are invited them to be a part of the campaign. The SLTPB said this is the first time a 360 degree social networking campaign will be launched on CNN through Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and Flicker and a contest whereby the winners get their dream itinerary for them and nine friends. This contest, carried out in collaboration with SriLankan Airlines and the industry partners will be launched on a CNN microsite. Speaking on the collaboration, Junji Sumitani, Sales Director, S.E. Asia, CNN International said CNN is proud to collaborate with Sri Lanka tourism on its unique travel campaign to showcase the best the country has to offer, adding that CNN’s multi-platform campaign leverages the channel’s extensive reach amongst travellers around the world. Tourism Minister Achala Jagoda said in the press release the website, launched with Visit Sri Lanka 2011, will serve as an impetus to kick start the campaign. Minister of Tourism Promotion Faizer Musthapha said it is an experiment for Sri Lanka Tourism by using new marketing tools. The SLTPB said it has carefully chosen a panel of Sri Lanka personalities, who will serve as experts on the micro-site, responsible for addressing questions and concerns raised by users. They include recognized film maker Vimukthi Jayasundara, Director Design at Buddhi Batiks- Darshi Keerthisena, CEO of Jetwing Eco Holidays - Gehan De S. Wijeratne, Miss Sri Lanka 2009 - Gamya Wijayadasa, representative of Sri Lanka in the Olympic games for three years -Julian Bolling, ODEL CEO- Otara Gunewardene and Sri Lanka cricket captain Kumar Sangakkara.

Welcome to Sri Lanka’s bird-friendly hotel

Hotel Sigiriya - where priority is on the environment

Sigiriya - The next time you walk into Hotel Sigiriya at the foot of the famous rock in Dambulla don’t be surprised to find ‘Kalu Gona’, the bull grazing in the garden and munching away. To the hotel this is the ‘live’ lawn mover that keeps the grass in check, saving on fuel costs and thus protecting the environment from obnoxious fumes (however small it may be). “We have re-positioned the 80-room property to an exclusive green hotel,” says Abbas Esufally, Group Director at Hemas Group handling hotels and leisure. “We wanted to make it unique and brought in environmental specialist Dr Sriyani Miththapala to come up with a plan to make it environmental friendly, using a lot of clean energy in the process,” he told the Business Times in Colombo. Indeed the hotel, 150 km north of Colombo, is developing systems where ultimately all its energy or the most part of it would come non-fossil fuels or renewable sources. At the hotel, its Manager Lakshita Wegodapola takes a Business Times reporter around the property, proudly showing the various ways the hotel has contributed in its own, small effort to reduce the carbon footprint and minimise greenhouse gases. Guests walking along the airy and open corridors of the lobby will notice the colour-coded switches or energy-savings bulbs that contribute to this effort. Solar energy is used for heating water in the toilets while hotel stewards serve straw-less drinks. No plasticEvery attempt has been made to reduce plastic use and waste. The laundry cart is colour coded, fresh flowers and natural oils are used as air freshener and margosa oil as a natural pesticide. The hotel shop doesn’t sell products from endangered species. Guests can have a fresh meal while strolling through the organic garden where vegetables and greens are instally plucked and cooked or served fresh. Says Mr Esufally, “We changed the hardware and the software at the hotel. The latter is most difficult as hardware is easy: you invest and change the structure. But software means changing staff attitudes – think green which (in today’s context) makes more commercial sense.” Water is recycled for use in the garden. Mr Wegodapola walks towards a boiler in the 7-acre, nicely landscaped property, saying that the diesel-fuelled boiler was transformed into a gassifier, bringing down costs by 50 %, with the use of fuelwood. He said the waste in the kitchen is sent to the piggery. Glass bottles are used as the hotel shuns plastic bottles – again to minimize the use of plastics. Just past the lobby and the public lounge is the Eco Centre where guests can relax on the ground filled with comfortable cushions, read a book on birds, animals or nature, listen to some music or listen to an expert talk on eco issues. “This is the first bird friendly hotel certified by the Field Ornithology Group,” Mr Wegodapola says, walking around the well-lit, circular room. The hotel has won many local and international environmental awards and its Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives extend to helping a nearby village and two schools. Helping childrenBritish folk singer Astrid Brook, who was hosted by the hotel during her frequent visits to Sri Lanka to play at the Country Roads charity concerts for needy children, visited kids at the hotel-supported, Diyakepilla village school and was enthralled by the children and the efforts by the hotel to help in their education. Ms Brook is returning to Sri Lanka again for this year’s Country Roads concert on February 21. Mr Wegodapitiya says the hotel is also examining the possibility of producing biogas from waste and rainwater harvesting. “With biogas we could use the energy for the kitchen and considerably save on gas cylinders,” he said. In Colombo, Mr Esufally said brand positioning of the property is to promote its eco-friendly and environmental sustenance initiatives. “We want to show visitors and outside world that we have an unique, unmatched green product,” he said.