SRI LANKA: Tourism Fest With The Spirit Of Christmas Ends Well

The first ever 'Tourism Fest with the spirit of Christmas'organized by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) in association with other tourism institutions under the Ministry of Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs was a huge success.

Thousands of foreign and local visitors thronged the Arcade, Independence Square during the five day event from December 19.

The idea behind 'Tourism Fest 2015' was to portray Sri Lankan food,culture, gems, handicrafts, tea, shopping and entertainment at one venue, offering both foreign and local visitors the opportunity of experiencing\the many facets of the country in one place.

Tourism Fest 2015 was opened by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

President Maithripala Sirisena was the Chief Guest on the last day of the fest.Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Harsha De Silva, Tourism and Christian Religious Affairs Minister John Amaratunga and Advisor to the Ministry of Policy Planning Dinesh Weerakkody also participated.

CANADA: Restaurants Gaining From Tourism Growth

Tourism has seen a significant hike so far this year, and our local restaurant industry is seeing the benefits of that.

With 308,052 more people visiting so far in comparison with the same period last year, the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association says the industry is noticing the difference.

Sales to the end of the summer, total system sales in British Columbia are about 8 percent, which is just about where tourism is. So is the effect of tourism and the effect of a relatively strong BC economy.

The data points to an increase from clients from Japan and South Korea, specifically, suggesting the province’s aggressive advertising campaign in those areas is paying off.

Ever since the 2010 Winter Olympics, what has been noticed you can measure so many things with restaurants, the economy, people, trends, health.

One can see that diversity from the demands on our restaurants from people from those various countries.

The increase marks a 7.6 percent jump from January to October of last year, according to Stats Canada.