Honeymoon over for Sri Lanka tourism?

World’s leading tour operator Kuoni’s most recommended wedding destination for couples slaps biz visa requirement; more paper work and official-level certifications
For several years Sri Lanka has been the most recommended wedding destination for couples by world’s leading tour operator Kuoni, bringing high-end tourists and valuable foreign exchange earnings for the tourism sector.  However, Sri Lanka appears to have stopped playing the cupid’s role, threatening the future of this important segment of tourism.
The travel and leisure industry is furious over new rules imposed for foreign couples wanting to get married in Sri Lanka. For example, couples in the UK (the most popular source market for weddings and honeymoons in Sri Lanka) are required to obtain business visa instead of tourist as previously followed. There is more documentation in addition to validation requirement as well.

Kuoni’s Top 10 Wedding destinations-Sri Lanka is Number 1

Kuoni’s web site promoting Sri Lanka as the
number one wedding destination.

Kuoni’s Top 10 Wedding destinations

Sri Lanka
Mauritius
Caribbean
Thailand
Bali
Hawaii
Las Vegas
New York
Kenya
Italy

ICT super highway empowers Colombo-Katunayake Expressway

Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) said yesterday it has been chosen to provide consultancy services as well as oversee and inspect the Colombo-Katunayake Expressway (CKE) project’s communication infrastructure and issue an independent certification for fibre optic installation to assure its capacity to handle many terabytes per second along the 25.8 km long Expressway.
This has been awarded to SLT after the company successfully completed the laying of 117 km of optical fibre cable along the Southern Expressway to facilitate the information superhighway of the country.
This new Colombo-Katunayake Highway, which starts from the New Kelani Bridge, leads to the access road of the Bandaranaike International Airport, Katunayake, and the travel time from Colombo to Katunayake is expected to be reduced to 20 minutes.

Anti-NSA protest calls for end to US spying

WASHINGTON, October 26, 2013 (AFP) - Several thousand protesters gathered Saturday in Washington to demand a new American law limiting the National Security Agency's surveillance programs seen as encroaching on private life.

The protest comes amid a widening scandal revealing sweeping US surveillance on the communications of ordinary citizens and global leaders that has sparked outrage worldwide.

Miss Universe apologises to India over Taj photoshoot

NEW DELHI, October 11, 2013 (AFP) - Organisers of Miss Universe extended their "deepest apologies" to India over a photo shoot at the Taj Mahal that triggered a police case and accusations that she disrespected the famed monument to love.

Reigning Miss Universe Olivia Culpo, a 21-year-old American from Rhode Island, visited the Islamic mausoleum on Sunday during a 10-day tour of India.

LAUGFS unveils NFC enabled fuel card powered by Dialog

Bringing latest technology to your nearest fuel station, LAUGFS Petroleum Limited, a subsidiary of LAUGFS Holdings Limited, together with Dialog Axiata PLC.,  recently introduced  the country’s first ever Near Field Communication(NFC) fuel card enabling  corporates  to bring down their transport costs  by replacing  traditional fuel  books  used by them when buying fuel.

Dhammika gears up for gaming kingship

• Enjoying three licenses, proposal to set up $ 350 m 40-storey 500-room Queensbury at D.R. Wijewardena Mawatha submitted to BOI; Venture to create 2,800 jobs


• Plans to lure one more US or Asian gaming brand for the second licence and build 500-700 room integrated resort also at D.R.Wijewardena Mawatha which will also have James Packer-Ravi Wijeratne’s Crown Colombo


• Third licence committed to JKH’s $ 650 m Waterfront project; Dhammika’s existing brands of Bellagio, Bally’s and MGM will be phased out


• Industry believes when operations of four new brands including Crown in full swing, 1 m more tourists could be drawn, with gaming specific visitors accounting for 40% owing to direct marketing

Having shot to business leader status from the origins of gaming industry, Dhammika Perera is now gearing to take his empire to a new level, a move that is likely to re-profile the country’s leisure and entertainment scene for the better.
Dhammika has already submitted his application to the Board of Investment to set up what will be his flagship business venture to date – the $ 350 million Queensbury Integrated Resort and Casino.

Virgin launches glass-bottomed plane

• By Richard Branson -


• Apr 01, 2013

I’m thrilled to announce that Virgin has created another world-first with the introduction of the technology required to produce the world’s first glass-bottomed plane. This technological innovation coincides with the start of Virgin Atlantic Airways’ first ever domestic service to Scotland.

Dutch businesses are bullish on Sri Lanka’s emergent prospects

Dutch businesses are bullish on Sri Lanka’s emergent prospects. “Sri Lanka’s historic links with The Netherlands have entered a new era. This strong business and investment delegation is the latest sign,” said Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Netherlands Buddhi Athauda yesterday, in Mt. Lavinia.
Ambassador Athauda was addressing the inaugural event of the visiting Netherlands business and trade delegation.
The delegation, which is on a week-long tour in Sri Lanka, and which arrived on same day (4 September) in Colombo, consisted of reps from  such leading Dutch firms as JIMPP Media, Abos, Defteq International BV, Beursgenoten, Fleurons & Prins, Velema Holdings, and Zonel Energy Systems.

Flemingo Duty Free signs up with Mobitel’s Club Magnate loyalty program

Flemingo Duty Free Ltd., part of Flemingo International, a Dubai-based global travel retail operator joined hands with Mobitel’s Club Magnate loyalty program recently.
This new partnership will provide for special discounts to all Mobitel customers and Club Magnate members at the Flemingo Duty Free outlet at Bandaranaike International Airport.
In just over15 years, Flemingo has established its operations across three continents; Asia, Europe and Africa and recently won a concession in South America.
It is present in over 26 countries with around 120 operations. Flemingo entered the Sri Lankan duty free market in November 2011 with shops located in both the arrival and departure lounges. The company has over a decade of experience in the South Asian region, with 29 stores in India alone. Flemingo operates across many different formats such as duty free at airports, borders, downtown, seaports, military forces, UN commissary shops as well as luxury retail, travel essential (starter), F&B outlets and coffee shops at airports.
With a heavy focus on emerging markets, Flemingo operates master concession as well as partnering with airports to lend its expertise and operational strength as well as infrastructure assistance.
Mobitel’s Club Magnate loyalty program utilises ground-breaking NFC technology, making it the
first of its kind in Sri Lanka. The program offers an array of benefits and discounts to its post-paid and pre-paid customers through an ever-growing partner merchant network.

Softlogic forays into fast food biz with Burger King franchise deal

Aggressively expanding and diversifying, Softlogic Holdings PLC has picked the burgeoning fast food industry as the latest to explore its own taste of success.
The company yesterday announced it has struck a deal to roll out world famous Burger King restaurants in Sri Lanka.
To undertake its foray Softlogic has floated a fully-owned subsidiary, Softlogic Restaurants Ltd., which is the master franchisee. It has entered into a master franchise and development agreement and a company franchise agreement with BK AsiaPac Pte Ltd. of Singapore to develop, open and operate Burger King Restaurants in Sri Lanka.
BK is a subsidiary of Burger King Worldwide Inc and the master franchiser for the Burger King system in the Asia Pacific region.

Cyber attacks hit Twitter and New York Times

NEW YORK CITY, August 28, 2013 (AFP) - Twitter and The New York Times were hit with cyber attacks on Tuesday, with credit quickly claimed by a group backing embattled Syrian strongman Bashar Al-Assad.

The Syrian Electronic Army, ironically, used Twitter to tout its efforts to take down the globally popular one-to-many messaging service and the Times news website."Media is going down," a message at the SEA Twitter account proclaimed. "Twitter, are you ready?"

Bangladesh holds Fonterra milk products over scare

DHAKA, August 27, 2013 (AFP) - Bangladesh authorities have restricted imports of powdered milk mostly from New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra following a contamination scare that has seen global recalls, officials said Tuesday.

Customs officials are holding more than 600 tonnes of powdered milk mostly from Fonterra until mandatory chemical tests showed they were safe, a senior official in the port city of Chittagong said."Samples have been sent for chemical tests, we will release them when reports confirm they are not containing any harmful bacteria," joint secretary of the city's customs office, Mahmudul Hasan, told AFP.

Gold fall dims prospects for pawning warns S&P

The recent fall in gold prices exposes Sri Lanka’s banking industry to the risk of a rise in nonperforming loans (NPLs) in the pawning (or gold-backed) loans segment. That’s according to a report, titled ‘Gold’s losing lustre reveals the cracks in Sri Lanka’s pawning segment’ that Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services published yesterday.
“We expect defaults in pawning loans to increase over the next 12 months unless gold prices stabilise,” said Standard & Poor’s Credit Analyst Geeta Chugh.

Mobitel pioneers SIM-based NFC technology in Sri Lanka

Launching SIM-based NFC technology recently, Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel earned itself yet another first in the industry.
Opting to pay by tapping one’s phone which has been installed with a NFC-enabled SIM card is gaining popularity across the world. This option is one that is fast and secure, where payments done in a retail environment are 100% contactless.
NFC or Near Field Technology is now available for a multitude of applications via Mobitel’s suite of Business Solutions.