Maleeh backs plan to jointly promote Maldives-Lanka tourism

Deputy Minister for Tourism Mohamed Maleeh Jamal has backed President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik's proposal to the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa for the two countries to promote tourism jointly.

Maleeh said that the brand of tourism promoted by Sri Lanka and that of the Maldives are different thus no conflict would arise from both countries conducting tourism promotion together.

“Maldivian tourism and Sri Lankan tourism are very different. Most tourists visit Sri Lanka to experience the cultural and traditional attractions. But on the contrary, tourists visit the Maldives to see the natural beauty of the country and the underwater scenery. The Caribbean region markets their tourism collectively, and very good results have been yielded from it,” Maleeh said.

He explained that if the Maldives and Sri Lanka market both countries tourism collectively it will greatly benefit both nations. He also highlighted that if marketing could be carried out in a manner which directed tourists visiting Sri Lanka to the Maldives then it would be an extra push for increased visits to the Maldives.

Some companies currently do promote the Maldives and Sri Lanka as one destination and given the results of such joint marketing has not been detrimental in any manner, if both countries joined forces several travel fairs can also be held in the region.

British tourists visit Sri Lanka currently more than they do to the Maldives, but the Tourism Ministry pointed out that despite that the Maldives and Sri Lanka are not competitive markets and that tourists visiting Sri Lanka are not of the same standard as that of the Maldives.

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Exploring Sri Lanka's tea estates

Sitting back with a cuppa, you could hardly be further away from the tea estates and their green oceans which cover the slopes in and around the city of Ratnapura in Sri Lanka. Haveeru's Ali Naafiz goes on a two-day journey to search for some unique blends of pure Sri Lankan Tea.

When I was asked by a friend to join him and his crew on a trip to document the tea plantations in Sri Lanka, I was so excited to see the much-hyped estates for the first time. With just a pair of denims and a couple of t-shirts in my backpack, I hurried to my friend's house in order to leave to Ratnapura. As we rode in the bus to the small town of Nittambuwa, where we were supposed to meet the rest of the crew, I could picture nothing but the amazing scenes of tea estates I have seen in countless documentaries.

The makeshift road to Ratnapura was bumpy to say the least, with lush green seas of tealeaves lined on either side of the road. The early morning mist and frequent showers made it difficult to see through the windows of the van. And yet, the breathtaking view of the tea estates with the famous Adam's Peak visible from behind was a sight that could not be missed.

Located some 100km southeast of capital Colombo, Ratnapura is home to alluvial soils rich in precious gemstones, including sapphires, rubies and moonstones. The 'land of gems' is also the largest tea-growing region in Sri Lanka. Its relative importance has increased since the end in 2009 of the country's 26-year long civil war and the expansion of markets for tea in the Middle East.


'Two leaves and a bud'
Sri Lankan tea, commonly referred to as Ceylon Tea, is known all over the world for its golden colour and rich, intense flavour. This unique characteristic is achieved with the hard work of thousands of female workers who come to the estates early in the morning despite the cold weather.

"We use an approach called 'two leaves and a bud'. An immature bud from the plant is plucked along with its two leaves. We also don't use any machineries to pluck the leaves. That's what makes Ceylon Tea special," Jayasinghe, a senior official from RTS Holdings that owns several tea estates in Ratnapura, said.

Large baskets attached to their backs, the workers pluck every available bud and their leaves from the plant before moving on to the next. And they would not see the same plant for another seven days.

"The leaves are plucked in a seven-day cycle. This ensures that the plants get enough time to grow new leaves. Unlike other countries, the bud and leaves are handpicked which means that the process doesn't cause any harm to the coarse leaves," Jayasinghe explained.

Workers bring the buckets of plucked tealeaves to the muster sheds where they are weighed in and checked for quality. Once the initial quality inspection is complete, the leaves are transported to the factory to be withered using large blowers. Withering removes the moisture from the leaves making it easier to be refined for further manufacturing processes.

"In the next step, we've to cut the withered leaves. This brings out the juices and begins the fermentation process. Fermentation is the most important step," a senior supervisor at the RTS-owned Hidellana Tea Factory said.

Fermentation requires extra care with special equipment installed at the factory to control the humidity, temperature and fermentation time. These conditions have to be well monitored and controlled or the flavour is lost.

"The fermented leaves are then fired to lock in the flavour, to dry it and to improve the quality. We don't add any preservatives or artificial flavouring in the manufacturing process," the supervisor said.

Before the final product is packed and taken to the auction, the fermented tealeaves are classified in order to remove the leaves that do not comply with the stringent quality standards employed by the factory. The final product is graded according to the size and appearance of the leaves.

The next level
Ratnapura also houses the Low-country Regional Centre of the Tea Research Institute (TRI), the institute responsible for enriching Sri Lanka's tea industry through professional research findings. Experts at the centre with knowledge and years of experience in growing tea plants study matters related to agronomy, plant breeding, entomology and processing technology. The findings are disseminated to the planters via publications, workshops and other awareness methods.

Companies also have their own quality-testing methods. RTS Holdings, for instance, has a dedicated 'Tea Testing Room' at its Hidellana Tea Factory where experts conduct routine quality checks. The company's chairman Lalith Liyanage regularly tests the more than 30 varieties of tea produced at the factory, which has a capacity of 25,000kg per day.

Sri Lankan Tea is unique due to its exotic flavour, colour and character that cannot be readily found elsewhere. The humidity, temperature, sunshine and rainfall in the country's central and southern highlands provide the perfect environment for the manufacture of one of the finest blends of tea available anywhere in the world.

Yet for the high quality of the tea manufactured in Sri Lankan tea factories, its most memorable aspect may well be the natural beauty of the tea estates. The calm environment and greenery of the never-ending tea plantations, coupled with spectacular sceneries of the nearby hills, would definitely dazzle a newcomer.

Note: Arshad Najumudeen from Sri Lanka's Independent Television Network (ITN) contributed to this story.

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A FLOATING GOLF COURSE? IT COULD BE COMING SOON TO THE MALDIVES

When you’re playing the new course planned for the Maldives in a few years, beware of the water on 1 … and 2 … and 3 … and 4 …

Golf course designers are a borderline crazy breed to begin with, but even by their standards, this is off the wall: plans for an entire floating golf course in the Maldives. The creation of the Maldivian government, Troon Golf and Waterstudio, a Dutch architecture firm, the $520 million course is designed to combat a problem that the rest of us don’t yet have. In short: the Maldives are about to sink below the ocean.

The Maldives, a collection of almost 1,200 islands in the Indian Ocean, have an average elevation of just five feet above sea level. And whether or not YOU believe in climate change, the folks there do, and they’ve got a lot more reason to take it seriously than the rest of us do. Accordingly, they’ve begun plans to create a series of floating islands to stave off imminent apocalypse. (A golf course wouldn’t be high on our priority list in such a scenario, but hey.)

The course will be made up of a series of islands with multiple holes on each island. Ah, but how do you get between holes? Glad you asked. The answer, of course, is UNDERWATER TUNNELS:

Greatest between-hole walk ever. (Via Waterstudio.nl)

How awesome is that? We’re sold. And it couldn’t be any tougher to get to than the PGA Championship on Kiawah Island this past weekend.

As the Daily Mail notes, the individual golf course islands will be built elsewhere, perhaps in the Middle East or in India, then towed to the Maldives. The islands will then be anchored to the seabed with cables so that, say, Hole 15 won’t go floating off in the direction of Australia while you’re walking up the fairway.

The entire project will be carbon neutral, developers claim. Construction will begin later this year, with the course ready by the end of 2013 and the entire complex ready by 2015. Start saving now.

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TOURISM ASSESSMENT OF THE INDIAN OCEAN REGION

(eTN) – Much is being discussed on an ongoing basis on the state of tourism in the world and this also covers the Indian Ocean region. The yield from tourism, the offers launched to attract tourists, visitor arrival numbers, and comments posted by respective tourism trade members are constantly being monitored by tour operators, press, and investors.

During the last couple of weeks, offers to coincide with EID were being floated and analyzed, and many observations were deduced from these latest promotional offers. Pay four and get five was the offer from Kenya, Maldives was pay three and get four nights, Seychelles offered just discounted rates, but Mauritius brought out the shocker with pay four and get seven night stays.

Trade professionals say that discounting brings down prices for a long time as it is often hard to change back the situation. The analysis deducted from offers reflects the state of the tourism industry in the destination. It is hard times for that volatile industry. This is clear, and this is the direct result of the economic difficulties facing Europe, which has been the traditional market base for tourism for the Indian Ocean region. Some destinations have worked hard to diversify their target market, while have others have stood firm, hoping for a change of situation in Europe, which would bring back the good old days. This has not happened, and it is clear that it will not happen in the foreseeable future.

The Maldives and Mauritius private sector trade has been proactive, and they are known to invest heavily to market their properties and businesses. Even in adversity, the positive messages keep appearing from both official government sources, as well as from the private sector. Kenya has been hit by events beyond their control – their internal politics of the coast and the Somali pirates kidnapping incidents have definitely not been helpful to them, but the country continues to echo positive vibes and is surviving because of that.

After the successes of the Maldives, it is the Seychelles that has grabbed all the attention. They are constantly under the microscope, along with the Maldives, two very visible destinations in the world demonstrating successful tourism. The Seychelles tourism authority remains dynamic – they are everywhere, always ensuring that Seychelles remains visible and on the minds of potential visitors.

Seychelles, however, is not immune to the new social dilemma, wherein anyone who may or may not have their thoughts based in fact, nevertheless feel free to tweet and post comments on social networks. “Tourism is sliding” was one such post about Seychelles’ tourism, after Blue Panorama Airline announced the suspension of their weekly service. From Rome, Italy, it was revealed that the Italian economy was the main reason for Blue Panorama Airline’s decision to suspend service, along with the difficulty to compete with the Middle East Hub approach, and the reluctance of Seychelles to bring their airport handling charges in line with that applicable in the region. The hub issue is more apparent for Seychelles as they have the three main Middle East carriers – Etihad, Emirates, and Qatar – all serving Seychelles daily and even twice a day for some airlines.

The bottom line is, Maldives and Seychelles have seen remarkable increases in their visitor arrival numbers, indicating it pays to keep your name out there with a positive message.

http://www.eturbonews.com/30693/tourism-assessment-indian-ocean-region

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REVENUE FIGURES REVEAL ECONOMIC IMPACT OF CHANGE IN LEASE EXTENSION POLICY

The Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) released figures earlier this week showing the extent to which the change in island lease payments has affected the Maldivian economy.

According to MIRA’s figures, the total revenue projected for March was Rf1044 million [US$ 68 million], but had received 37.9 percent lower than the projected revenue “mainly due to the unrealised revenue from the Lease Extension Period.”

MIRA had anticipated to receive a total of Rf375 million [US$ 24 million] for lease extensions – however, due to government’s recent decision to accept resort island’s lease extension payments in installments – the  income received dropped to nearly Rf23 million (US$1.5 million).

These figures were published the same week that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned the People’s Majlis that drastic measures must be made to reduce the government’s budget deficit. At the same time, the government announced that it was promoting a third of the police force and paying two years of allowances to defence personnel.

The IMF noted that the budget figures it had seen did not reflect the lost revenue resulting from the change in collection of lease payments.

Concluding the IMF’s visit to the country, the group’s representative suggested that the government reduce civil service pay and benefits, re-introduce recently removed import duties, increase the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and increase the bed tax by 50 percent.

The IMF’s expressed it fears that the government may exhaust its reserves if it did not resolve its budgetary imbalances: “Immediate steps have to be taken. This is the reality, we have to face it.”

MIRA’s figures appear to bear out the fears of the former Tourism Minister Dr Mariyam Zulfa, who predicted that the new government, having “over-interpreted” the repayment clauses in the Tourism Act, could expect to see up to $135 million taken from government revenues in the next year.

At the time of the Tourism Ministry’s announcement of the extension payment changes, the government had already received lump sum payments from 25 resorts equating to US$40 million and was expecting nearly US$135 more from 90 resorts.

“The lease extension is about increasing the asset value of the properties. In the Maldives, all the islands actually belong to the government and when the second amendment to the tourism law came into place it gave the option for resorts to extend the existing 25 year leases to 50 years,” explained Dr Zulfa, at the time.

“A time period was given and there is a clause [in tourism lease extension regulation] that stipulates that the payment must be done in completion before the lease period can be extended. So, the Nasheed government had interpreted that clause as the payment to be paid in full for the period extended. So, because the wording is such that the payment must be complete before the extension is granted, we interpreted it as the full payment.”

“But there is another clause [in Tourism Act] which says the manner in which the payment is calculated is on an annual basis. This [current] government has over-interpreted that clause and has said that the payment has to be made on an annual basis, but I have always insisted that the value of the government assets must not be allowed to decrease because the payments go to funding welfare services, housing projects, infrastructure projects, health services and so on that would benefit the local community,” she said.

“The current government has not only allowed payment to be made on an annual basis but allow for the payment to start at the end of the 25 year period, which is years away. It is a huge loss to the government treasury, about US$150 million, and I think as a result that a lot of people will be deprived of the many projects that we have started for the benefit of the communities across the atolls,” argued Zulfa.

Meanwhile, the Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb has said that the government would reimburse US$ 40, accepted as lease extension payments prior to the change in policy  by deducting the amount from the rent payments.

Explaining the decision at the time, Adheeb also said that the government was happy make things easier for the tourism industry wherever it could, after it had contributed so much to the economy through taxes.

He further claimed that the government was seeking to act in line with a December 2011 High Court ruling against Nasheed administration’s interpretation of the relevant clause in lease extension regulation.

After the ruling was made, and before it lost control of the government, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), had stated its intention to appeal the High Court’s decision. Dr Zulfa reports that the current government has removed this appeal from the high court.

from: Minivan

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Maldives Travel Awards open for voting

Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) has officially opened the opportunity for the public to vote for the nominees in the "GMR Maldives Travel Awards 2012."

Award event organizer, High Rise detailed that the voting has begun early Wednesday morning and voters worldwide can register and vote for the nominees via travelawards.mv/vote. High Rise added that the voters can register through facebook or email as well.

High Rise stressed that the voters who register through email will need to verify their registry through their respective email accounts.

High Rise also stated that each individual voter can cast a single vote in each category. The deadline for the voting is September 15, 2012.

The GMR Maldives Travel Awards 2012 nominations include 65 names. High Rise states that these nominations were selected upon reference from world renowned international brands involved in the Maldivian tourism sector.

The award given to celebrate the 40th anniversary of tourism in Maldives is sponsored by Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) operator GMR, India. The award is to be given on September 28, 2012. This is the first time the award is being given.

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