Feature
Conflict-free Sinhala and Tamil New Year
In April (the month of Bak), when the sun moves from the Meena Rashiya (House of Pisces) to the Mesha Rashiya (House of Aries) in the celestial sphere; Sri Lankans begin celebrating their New Year or Aluth Avurudhu (in Sinhala) and Puththandu (in Tamil). It marks the end of the harvest season and also coincides with one of 2 instances when the sun is directly above Sri Lanka.
Property of the Month
This luxury villa in Galle is a 5,000 square foot Dutch-inspired colonial mansion that is nestled amidst two acres of secluded beach front on the Indian Ocean. This huge Villa is twenty minutes from the Galle Fort and centre of town.
Villa of the Month
Villa Victoria
Victoria is a beautiful 5-bedroom villa set in a coconut grove on the beach with landscaped gardens overlooking the Indian Ocean and located only 8 kms from the historic town of Galle. Built by a leading Australian architect for himself, Victoria is a contemporary interpretation of a traditional Sri Lankan house furnished with antique doors and furniture.
This Month's Top Story
Yahoo! Travel Magazine ranks Sri Lanka among top 10
Sri Lanka is among the top 10 most affordable destinations in the world, according to the German-language yahoo! Travel Magazine.
The other countries recommended by the magazine for a ‘memorable holiday’ are Malaysia, Thailand, India, Bulgaria, Croatia, Mexico, Turkey, Egypt and Hungary.
Book of the Month
Book Review by Andrew Kittle
You don’t need a particularly large coffee table to support Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne’s book Portrait of Sri Lanka - and that’s a compliment. It is a slim volume considering the genre of hardcover photographic guides, so not particularly useful for pressing flowers or setting glue, but excellent for sitting back with in a comfortable chair and delving into, perhaps even with a cup of coffee - or classic Ceylon tea, given the subject matter!
Recipe of the Month
Sri Lankan fare is often mistaken for yet another Indian regional cuisine. Yet to the culinary explorer, Sri Lankan Food is as intriguing and unique as the many other customs of this island paradise. In spite of its tiny size, Sri Lanka boasts an amazing variety of food and styles of cooking. The island has a rich heritage of indigenous dishes and its regional cooking is strongly individual and varied. For example, Kandyan Sinhalese cooking, with its emphasis on hill country vegetables and fruits; coastal cooking, making the best of the abundant seafood with which the land is blessed; Tamil cooking, closely linked to that of southern India, which is especially prevalent in Jaffna, in the north.
NEWS
BOI investments exceed US$ 250 m this year
by Harshini Perera
Direct investments received by the Board of Investment (BOI) for the first three months of this year amounted to US $ 250 million. The total investments for 2009 was US$ 602 million. The Horana Export Processing Zone has been able to attract direct investments of US $ 57.15 million with the establishment of nine new companies.
It is expected that the companies will generate 1,221 employment opportunities at the Horana Export Processing Zone (HEPZ), Board of Investment (BOI) Chairman, Dhammika Perera said.
by Charumini de Silva
Despite many internal and external economic challenges Sri Lanka's economy has recorded a growth of 3.5 percent last year. The outstanding performance was mainly due to the steady recovery in the economy and the restoration of peace. The Central Bank expected a Gross Domestic Production (GDP) growth of 2.5 percent in the beginning of 2009, but due to the remarkable progress in the final quarter of 6.2 percent the country could gain an average growth of 3.5 percent, Central Bank Director, K. D. Ranasinghe said.
Hotels ready for tourist influx
Sri Lanka is equipped with 14,000 rooms in 250 hotels to cater to half a million tourists from various destinations now.
The present capacity of the leisure sector will be sufficient to meet the current requirement but these hotels need to be refurbished. Considering the target of 2.5 million tourists by 2015, the present capacity of accommodation will not be sufficient, a senior tourism official said.
IIFA puts Lanka on tourism map – More tourist arrivals in March
by Shirajiv Sirimane
The number of tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka has increased by over 50 percent in March this year against the corresponding period of last year.
Over 34,000 tourists visited Sri Lanka in March 2009. The figure stood at 52,352 at the end of last month, a 53.7 percent increase.
Once again, Indian tourists took the top slot with 8,607 visiting Sri Lanka, with tourists from the United Kingdom (8,559) and Germany (5,305) following. With the increase in operations of the low cost carrier, Air Asia, arrivals from Malaysia to saw a healthy increase.
Sri Lankan stocks hit new high, end up 2.34-points
Sri Lanka, first in Asia to follow energy management system
Shipping industry to flourish - Harbour expansion, infrastructure to bring bulk vessels
Railway nets Rs. 7 m for festive season
New Year treat
New Year on grand scale
New bridge for Oddamavadi
More development projects for Hambantota
Lankan dancers thrill Palestinians at Tourism Road Show
Landmark Fair - Jaffna on world investment map
Jewel of Muscat arrives at Galle Port
Investors vie for Hambantota Port project
Holidaymakers flock to Nuwara Eliya
Green hotels recognised in Sri Lanka
Dutch Run - Emirates starts Amsterdam Sri Lanka run
Ayurvedic Workshop for foreign tourists visiting Sri Lanka
Quote of the month
Arms and the Heroes, who from Lisbon’s shore,
Thro’ seas where sail was never spread before,
Beyond where Ceylon lifts her spicy breast,
And waves her woods above the wat’ry waste,
With prowess more than human forc’d their way
To the fair kingdoms of the rising day…
- poet Luis de Camoens
