The 12 room property on Church Street boasts a rich history dating back to 1695, a little younger than the key landmark in which it resides, the fortress of Galle, built by the Dutch East India Company in 1663. The property was once the home to one of the most prestigious gem merchant families in Asia, the Macan Markers, famed for their sapphire collection including the 182 carat “star of Bombay” now in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

The property ceased to be a private residence in the latter stages of the first half of the 20th century and post independence, (1948), it spent time, among other identities, as a bakery as well as the fort post office.

Following its restoration the hotel opened its doors in November 2004, just weeks before the Boxing Day Tsunami. In the immediate aftermath of this tragic event The Galle Fort Hotel was a centre of operations for NGOs, journalists and other organisations as well as providing support to the surviving victims.

oday the hotel is a collection of buildings from different periods, testament to its prominence through the ages and each reflecting different architectural styles.

The heritage wing, that dates to the early 18th century, houses a range of suites each with a unique character. For example the Admiral Cheng Ho Suite, or ACH as the guests refer to, commemorates the great Chinese explorer who paid several visits to Galle, the first in 1405. The Porcelain Suite has a display of antique Chinese ceramics between the bathroom and bedroom and original Dutch period 9m (30 ft) ceilings.

There are other antiques on display in the other guest rooms as well as the public areas of the hotel. These are all part and parcel of this boutique heritage hotel and add to its charm and character.

The hotel has maintained an enviable reputation for food in its short history, even with the current interest in the fort today and the increasing range of cafes and restaurants.

From its casual lunch time cafe menu and tapas bar menu to the fine dining Asian fusion set dinners, well catered for both foreign and local guests. The bar has a full range of drinks including an extensive wine and cocktail list. The restaurant and bar are open to the public daily from 12pm. The newly revamped page of the Galle Fort Hotel can be found on Facebook.

Sri Lanka has become a popular hotspot for Eid this year.

The Khaleej Times reports that although Asia, Thailand and Malaysia remain at the top of the list of tourists heading out overseas for the holy festival, countries like India and Sri Lanka are also getting some interest this year, particularly among the UAE nationals.

Mary Thomas, managing director of Bin Moosa Travel, says that mountainous areas, beaches and the backwaters in countries like Sri Lanka are proving to be an attraction for UAE nationals.

In Europe, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy are the sought-after destinations, while a considerable good amount of traffic is flocking to the US, particularly to Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York.

Mohammed Abdulla Al Fahim of Al Fahim Group, has said for Emiratis, the favourite destination this season is Thailand. However, expatriate tourists purchased packages for serene, majestic and economically affordable tourist hideouts like Sri Lanka and Maldives. Other popular places, he said, are in Europe.

Source: The Khaleej Times

Preparations have been made to bring 23 contestants who have qualified for the final round of the Chinese Universal Beauty Queen Contest to Sri Lanka as a strategy to attract more Chinese tourists to the island.

It was revealed during a media conference in Colombo that these 23 Chinese Beauty Queens would tour Sri Lanka from 25 August to 01 September.

This tour is an official part of this contest and following the regional selections the final pageant of the Chinese Universal Beauty Queen Contest would be held on a grand scale in Shanghai on 13 September.

The intention is to attract more Chinese tourists towards Sri Lanka since this tour of these beauty contestants gains much prominence among the Chinese media.

While around 55,000 tourists have arrived in Sri Lanka last year, this number increasing by about 90 percent as compared to 2013 is a very significant feature.

Bringing the Chinese beauty contestants to Sri Lanka has been organized and hosted by the Cinnamon Grand Hotels and resorts while their flight is being sponsored by SriLankan Airlines.

The organizers say that since Emmy winner Chinese-American television presenter Yue-Sai Kan is vastly popular in China this would be an additional advantage to make Sri Lanka popular among Chinese tourists.

This Chinese beauty pageant is being organized as a production of Yue-Sai Kan.

While speaking to adaderanabiz.lk on the programme to bring down the Chinese beauty contestants to Sri Lanka, Vice President of John Keells Group Ajit Gunawardena said that they would be hosted while giving prominence to Sri Lankan hospitality and that they would be taken around the best tourist attractions in Sri Lanka.

It is vital to promote Sri Lanka’s tourism potentials within the world’s largest tourism market in China, added Ajit Gunawardena.

‘Tourism and Community Development’ is the theme of this year’s World Tourism Day (WTD).
The theme underscores the potential of tourism to promote opportunities for communities around the world, as well as the role that community engagement has in advancing sustainable tourism development.
The official celebrations will be hosted by Mexico in the city of Guadalajara (27 September). This year’s WTD theme is ideally timed to contribute to the debate on tourism’s contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the UN development blueprint after 2015, which places a high priority on local participation. “Each time we travel, use local transport at a destination or buy products from a local market, we are contributing to a long value chain that creates jobs, provides livelihoods, empowers local communities, and ultimately brings in new opportunities for a better future,” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, in his official WTD message. “Tourism can only prosper if it engages the local population by contributing to social values such as participation, education and enhanced local governance. At the same time, there can be no real tourism development if such development damages in any way the values and the culture of host communities or if the socio-economic benefits generated by the tourism sector do not trickle down to the community level.”
The official celebrations to be held in Guadalajara, Mexico, include a high-level think tank bringing together ministers, development experts and key tourism representatives to address the relevance of a community based tourism approach as conducive to sustainable development.  The think tank will be moderated by news anchor Gabriela Frías of CNN International, the WTD 2014 global media partner.