Russia's Gazprom to Build a Hotel in Sri Lanka in order to Promote Tourism between the Two Countries

20th January 2012, www.dailynews.lk, By Hemanthi Guguge

A leading company in Russia, Gazprom expresses its willingness to construct a hotel in Sri Lanka, in order to promote tourism between Sri Lanka and Russia.

This hotel would comprise more than 200 rooms, with all the facilities.

Tourist arrivals from Russia has sharply increased since 2011 and plans are under way to increase the number of tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka from 23,000 in 2011 to 50,000 by the end of 2012.

Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Russia Udayanga Weeratunga told Daily News Business that, Sri Lanka has drawn up plans to promote market tourism and Russia is ideal for this. Russia was listed seventh on the listed highest spending market.

There has been a sharp increase of tourist arrivals from Russia to Sri Lanka due to the commencement of direct airlines from Sri Lanka to Russia.

Aerosvit is being operated three times a week from Kyiv to Colombo and Aeroflot being operated twice a week from Moscow to Colombo. SriLankan Airlines has commenced a flight between Colombo and Moscow since last September.

This flight via Dubai is scheduled twice a week.

These three aircraft is capable of accommodating more than 1,000 passengers per week.

Sri Lankan Embassy in Russia has taken measures to introduce a tourist guidebook in Sri Lanka to promote tourism.

There is a shortage of Russian speaking people in Sri Lanka and it is a major disadvantage of promoting tourism between Sri Lanka and Russia.

Tourism is among the main drivers of economic growth, major tourist attractions focused around the island are the famous beaches located in the southern and eastern part of the country.

Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals increased by 30 percent to 855,975 from January to December 2011, compared to 2010. Tourist arrivals are expected to increase sharply over the next few years due to intensive marketing of Sri Lanka as a world-class tourist destination.


Related Info :

• 11 International Airlines Fly Back to Sri Lanka since the End of War in 2009

• Sri Lanka Tourist Arrivals in December 2011 Up by 15.2pct

SriLankan Airlines Flies to Moscow as its 52nd Destination. The First Time National Carrier Serves Russia in its History

07th May 2011, www.island.lk

SriLankan Airlines will commence a new service to Moscow on 15th September, making the Russian capital, the 52nd destination of the airline. The new service will operate via Dubai, and will commence initially with two flights per week on Thursdays and Saturdays.

SriLankan Airlines Chairman Nishantha Wickremasinghe said: "We are delighted to announce the launch of services to Moscow. This will be the first time in history that our national carrier has served Russia, and will no doubt serve to greatly strengthen the close relationship between our two nations."

SriLankan Airlines has been expanding steadily over the past several months, and launched services to Shanghai last July, Guangzhou in January, and Kochi in March. It will acquire at least six aircraft this year and has been increasing capacity throughout its global route network since last December. The new aircraft will include state-of-the-art Audio Video On Demand (AVOD) entertainment systems.

Tourism to Sri Lanka has been booming since the dawn of permanent peace in the Indian Ocean island two years ago. Tourist arrivals grew by 34% in the first quarter of 2011, after setting an all time record of 654,000 in 2010.

Sri Lanka offers excellent value for money for leisure travelers – especially those from Europe - with hundreds of miles of golden beaches, mist-swathed mountains, ancient cultural sites, and bargain shopping. The airline recently re-launched its domestic service SriLankan Air Taxi, making many parts of the island accessible within an hour on its floatplanes.

Tourist arrivals from Russia grew by 21% in the first quarter of 2010, and by 22% from other countries in Eastern Europe. The airline already serves five uropean cities – London, Paris, Frankfurt, Rome and Milan – with plans to commence services to several more.

Asia is fast becoming a favourite destination for travelers from Russia, the world’s fastest growing outbound tourist market. According to the World Tourism & Travel Council, Russia is well placed to become one of the world’s travel and tourism powerhouses by 2016.

SriLankan is also largest carrier into Maldives, which is another firm favourite among Russian travelers. SriLankan operates six flights per day into Male, which is just over an hour’s flying time from Colombo. The new service would also be useful for the significant number of Sri Lankans studying in Russian universities.

Related Info :

• SriLankan Airlines Expands Fleet with Airbus A320 Aircraft

• Singapore Airlines & Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau to Jointly Promote Tourism to Sri Lanka

• SriLankan Adds Guangzhou, Canton, as Airline's Fourth Destination in China after Beijing, Shanghai & Hong Kong

• Sri Lanka Tourism Statistics and Tourist Arrivals

Sri Lanka Bonds Out Perform BRIC Bonds in International Capital Markets - Survey by JP Morgan Chase and Co

01st September 2010, www.island.lk

After the end of a thirty year old war last year, Sri Lanka’s sovereign bonds have out performed bonds from Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) in international capital markets according to a survey carried out by JP Morgan Chase and Co, which augurs well for US$ 1 billion sovereign bond issue later this year, a report by Bloomberg newswire service said.

"Sri Lankan debt has returned 39 percent since May 18, 2009, when the government defeated Tamil Tiger rebels, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s EMBI Global Index. That compares with 12 percent in China, 22 percent in Brazil and 26 percent in Russia. Company bonds of India, which doesn’t have a dollar-sovereign issue, delivered gains of 26 percent," Bloomberg newswire said in a report filed August 30.

Bloomberg said BRIC economies accounted for about 40 percent of the world’s foreign-exchange reserves and its population. "The Colombo All-Share Index of shares climbed 177 percent since the war ended, the world’s best performer, while the rupee strengthened 2.2 percent to 112.65 per dollar," it said.

The government is planning to issue a US$ 1 billion Eurobond issue later this year to retire short term domestic debts and meet short term foreign loan commitments.

State banking giant Bank of Ceylon was appointed to manage the sovereign bond issue along with HSBC, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and the Royal Bank of Scotland. These three banks were recently appointed by the government as advisors to Sri Lanka’s efforts to improving its sovereign rating to investment grade. Their term as advisors would last four years. Ten international investment banks had vied for this position.

According to Bloomberg investors were seen to be bullish on Sri Lanka’s next debt issue.

"Demand for bonds from countries like Sri Lanka is still high," said Milan-based Francesca Di Cesare, who helps oversee $10 billion of assets including 2015 Sri Lankan debt at Aletti Gestielle SGR SpA, as quoted by Bloomberg newswire, "Investors struggle to find this paper."

Bloomberg also quoted a portfolio manager Jetro Siekkinen, who oversees $7.8 billion of assets including Sri Lankan 2015 debt at Aktia Asset Management in Helsinki who said, "Demand will be strong and I will definitely be adding on to my holding. The sales should be successful in this kind of yield-hungry environment," he told Bloomberg.

The Central Bank is observing radio silence as per US Securities and Exchange Control laws and officials are not permitted to comment on the upcoming issue, let alone announce its issue date, until and after the offer is closed.

Russia’s Gas Giant Gazprom Plans Oil Exploration in Sri Lanka

08th February 2010, www.dailymirror.lk

Russia’s gas giant Gazprom plans to take part in exploration of offshore hydrocarbon fields in Sri Lanka. Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is visiting Moscow, discussed this issue at the talks on Monday.

“The parties discussed prospects for Russian-Sri Lankan cooperation in the oil and gas sector,” the gas giant’s information department said. “In particular, they focused on Gazprom’s possible participation in the development of offshore hydrocarbon deposits in Sri Lanka.”

According to the Sri Lankan government, the republic has eight oil and gas blocs in the Mannar basin, northwestern coast.

Russia Keen to Invest in Sri Lanka Tourism Industry

11th February 2010, www.lankabusinessonline.com

Russian investors are keen to invest in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, which is recovering after the end of a 30-year war, a senior official said.

Export Development and International Trade Minister Gamini Peiris said Sri Lanka gets a large number of Russian tourists and that Russian companies were keen to develop the industry in the island.

The Russian investment figured in talks between Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s and his Russian counter part Dmitry Medvedev during a recent visit to Moscow, Peiris said.

Russia itself has a well-developed tourism industry especially near the Caspian Sea and Black Sea regions.

“So we want to get Russian investment in hotel development. This figured in talks between the two sides and the Russian president was keen,” Peiris told a news conference.

Tourist arrivals in the island have rebounded with the end of the ethnic war last May and hotels are reporting full occupancy after many years.