SriLankan Airlines Pro 2011 Surf Contest Brings Best Surfers to Arugam Bay with ASP

17th July 2011, www.sundaytimes.lk

Sri Lanka’s eastern coastal resort Arugam Bay plays host for the second consecutive year, to the ‘SriLankan Pro Surf 2011’ - one of the world’s top-rated surfing events, as part of SriLankan Airlines’ multi-pronged strategy to position the island as one of the world’s most sought after travel and sporting destinations, the airline said.

With two principal events – the LongBoard Men’s Championship Event and the ShortBoard Women’s World Qualifying Series Event - the ‘SriLankan Airlines Pro 2011’ tournament will attract top stars of the surfing world to Arugam Bay from 30th August to 4th September, with over a 100 competitors from around the world. The women’s event is also a Six Star World Qualifier and will be held in Sri Lanka for the first time with nearly 60 participants from Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Hawaii, South Africa, Peru, Chile, Japan, UK, Indonesia and France, billed to ride the waves off Sri Lanka’s east coast, the airline statement added.

Organized by the Australian Surf Professional ASP, the SriLankan Airlines Pro 2011 is an important event for professional surfers. It has the highest rating of ‘Six Stars’ on the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour by which competitors qualify to contest for the World Title. ‘SriLankan Airlines Pro 2011’ will showcase the picturesque southeast resort of Arugam Bay aka A-Bay, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, positioning it as a destination for all types of beach lovers, and not just for surfers. It will also bring high exposure to Sri Lanka as a leisure island.

SriLankan Airlines’ Chairman, Nishantha Wickremasinghe said, “Sri Lanka is firmly back on the world travel map and has proved its ability to host mega events such as this. Having been associated with the sport of surfing for nearly a decade, SriLankan Airlines is happy to bring this top level competition to our shores once again, thus showcasing both Sri Lanka as a holiday destination and the stunning A-Bay in particular.”

Related Info :

• Association of Surfing Professionals Selects Sri Lanka's Arugam Bay for World Qualifying Surfing Series

• Billabong Joins Surfing's ASP 6 Star SriLankan Airlines Pro at Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka from 18 - 24 June

• Sri Lanka is Asia’s Best Surf Destination of the Year 2010 - Floating Asia Magazine

Sri Lanka is Asia’s Best Surf Destination of the Year 2010 - Floating Asia Magazine

05th May 2011, www.news360.lk

Sri Lanka has been selected as the best Surf Destination of the year 2010 by the “Floating Asia Magazine”.

Floating Asia is a Magazine dedicated to the people who want to enjoy, explore and experience the Asian Surf Breaks, Dive Sites and the Asian Liveaboards.

The Award Ceremony took place yesterday at the Asia Dive Expo Exhibition which is currently underway in Singapore.

ASIA DIVE EXPO is among the largest Scuba Diving Exhibitions in Asia and the occasion was also used to launch the 3rd Edition of the Floating Asia Magazine.

Maldives won the Asian Liveaboard of the year 2010 while Thailand bagged the award for the Asian Dive destination of the year.

Image: Floating Asia Magazines being sold at Asia Dive Expo Exhibition in Singapore


Related Info :

• Arugam Bay - One of the World's Top Ten Surf Spots

• Billabong Joins Surfing's ASP 6 Star SriLankan Airlines Pro at Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka from 18 - 24 June

• After a four year absence the UK PRO SURF TOUR returns to Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka

Billabong Joins Surfing's ASP 6 Star SriLankan Airlines Pro at Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka from 18 - 24 June

03rd June 2010, www.arugam.info

The fast approaching SriLankan Airlines Pro at Arugam Bay today announced the inclusion of Billabong as a support sponsor to this exciting new addition to the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Six-Star World Tour.

With just two weeks remaining until the event begins, Billabong’s involvement adds to the events prestige and its overall activation. Billabong Asia Brand Manager Peter Thew is excited to enter into this partnership in a region that boasts a myriad of incredible surf locations.

“We are constantly having new places and new pockets of surfing communities brought to our attention all through the Asia region” said Thew. “It’s a huge honour to be teaming up with SriLankan Airlines and ASP Australasia to further help highlight another one of these truly amazing parts of the world.”

The event begins on June 18 and the field line-up is super high quality and international with surfers travelling from all key ASP regions throughout the world. Wild card surfers into the event are to be announced shortly.

The SriLankan Airlines Pro will be live webcast and will include a quality produced and globally distributed television show along with television newsfeeds distributed internationally throughout the event as well as highest quality digital images focusing on the event, the environment, wildlife and of course the abundance of surf from the region.

Arugambay Travels and Tour Opens New Office in Colombo, Sri Lanka

04th December 2009, www.dailymirror.lk

The new office of Arugambay Travels and Tour was declared open on Wednesday by Minister of Tourism Promotion Faiszer Musthapha at No. 20,Deal Place, Colombo 3.

Deputy Minister of Higher Education Minister M.M. Musthoha Advisor to the President A.H.M.Aswer, Secretary Ministry of Tourism Promotion George Michael, President Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sri Lanka Kosala Wickramanayake, Partner Arugambay Travels and Tours and Arugambay Travels Hotels Mark John Scannell, Chairman Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority Bernard Goonetilleke and members of the business community were present at the inauguration.

Inbound and outbound tour packages, air line ticketing, transportation, hotel reservations and real estate are the services offered by the company, which is also engaged in promoting investments to the east, and will provide necessary information and consultancy services to potential investors.

Arugambay Travels Hotels is engaged in building a three star hotel facility in Arugambay. The total investment of the 25 room hotel which will come up with all necessary facilities will be Rs. 203 million. The project cost is to be met with local and foreign investment.

The first stage is expected to be completed by the end of 2010. This is the first such facility to come up in the area with approvals from relevant Government institutions and the BOI.

In his welcome address Managing Director of Arugambay Travels and Tours A.M. Jaufer said that since the company started operations in 2004, it was involved in promoting tourism to the east.

He said that although the plans to built the hotel were delayed due to the situation of the country during the past few years now the company was able to pursue its targets.

"Be it local or foreign tourists, we will serve all of them with more emphasis on introducing new and exotic locations to visitors," he added.

Minister Faiszer Musthapha said: "Due to the efforts of President Mahinda Rajapakse and the Government, problems created by the 30-year-old war are over. Now it is time for all of us to build our country. There is an immense potential in the north and east for the development of tourism."

He further said that the President had given a target to increase tourist arrivals to 2.5 million by 2016. "The requirement of hotel rooms to cater to the incoming tourists is around 35,000. It is important to meet this target with good quality facilities. The hotel project started by Arugambay Travels will certainly contribute towards achieving this target."

The Minister further said that while all facilities would be provided to the foreign tourists, local tourism will also be promoted.

Scannell in his address said: "With the improved business conditions in Sri Lanka I can confidently say that Sri Lanka will become a major tourist destination in a few years. We will be trying our utmost to promote tourism in the east."

He further thanked the Ministry of Tourism and the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, The Board of Investment, Lanka Orix Leasing Company for all the support given for the hotel project to become a reality.

Image courtesy of go-lanka.com and mysrilankaholidays.com

Sri Lankan Tourism Has Tremendous Potential in Germany, the United Kingdom, the Middle East and Japan

26th October 2009, www.dailynews.lk, By Charumini de Silva

The Sri Lankan tourism industry has tremendous potential to grow further with the dawn of peace. The opening up of the North and the East has brought positive hopes to the Sri Lankan tourism as two-thirds of the coastline, which was formerly under the control of terrorists, has been liberated making it accessible to tourists.

"It is essential for Sri Lanka to promote tourism with professionally designed awareness programs to penetrate the market. During the past three decades, the travel advisories of several western countries gave a negative picture of the country and since peace has been established, it is important to spread awareness among the travellers to the effect that the country is now free of terror and safe to travel," a Senior Travel Consultant, Rob Murrer told Daily News Business.

He said Sri Lanka is a beautiful country with a very rich culture and a historical background. There are many places of interest for travellers to explore. Another plus factor is that the travellers have the opportunity to enjoy the hot and cold climates with the minimum of travel and waste of time. This country is a paradise where travellers would love to spend their holidays, but the tourist industry needs strong marketing programs to promote tourism. Participating in international exhibitions, distribution of professionally designed brochures, approaching multinational companies, leading travel agencies and chambers, holding road shows and e-commerce is essential to promote Sri Lankan tourism, he said.

He said that there should be a target market to approach. There was a tremendous market from Germany, the United Kingdom, the Middle East and Japan.

As a start, Sri Lanka could focus on these markets and gradually the country would be able to capture the other markets. A lot of tourists visit the country to enjoy nature and the tranquil beaches, as they need to relax because of their busy lifestyles. With the opening of the North and the East to tourism, the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau has to play a vital role to promote tourism industry by introducing activities such as surfing, wildlife safaris, eco-tourism, snorkelling and adventure, Murrer said.

Another Tourism Consultant Ans Peeters said there are various sectors that could be easily promoted through and Ayurvedic medicine is one of them as it has a great demand from the tourists. Sri Lanka could also enter the market by becoming a paradise for shoppers, as there is high demand for Sri Lankan apparel all over the world.