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CANADA-SRI LANKA BUSINESS COUNCIL

President: Upali Obeyesekere	Address
58 Sundial Crescent, Toronto, ON. M4A 2J8	Canada
Telephone	416-445-5390
E-Mail:	cslbcbiz@rogers.com
Website:	www.cslbc.ca

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12 Canadian diesel locomotives to Ceylon under C-Plan in 1954

In 1952, Ceylon Government Railway (CGR)—as it was known then—under the legendary leadership of B. D. Rampala moved towards diesel power in its rolling stock, which by then was made up of British-built steam locomotives. The first set of diesels to be brought were Brush locomotives from the United Kingdom. However, their comparatively light horsepower compelled the CGR to look for a more capable workhorse for long-distance journeys. And so it was that under a grant from Canada, as part of the Colombo Plan, that the M2 class was born in Sri Lanka in 1954. Quickly put to long-haul operations, with Alberta first pulling the Ruhunu Kumari on 25 January 1955, this sleek class of engines have entered the annals of Sri Lanka Railways as the most reliable railway engines ever used.
The icing on the cake was the gift of twelve Canadian diesel locomotives under the Colombo Plan in the late 50's - an outright gift from the Canadian government under the premiership of Pierre Trudeau. These diesels were a joy to behold, and I still remember the names of some of them, on either side of the locomotive gleaming in silver and blue. They were "Alberta" "Montreal" "Sasketchwan" "Prince Edward Island" "Vancouver" "Manitoba" "Toronto" and "Ontario". Out went the British locomotives .
When the then Prime minister of Canada, Pierre Trudeau made a state visit to Sri Lanka, in 1971, he was treated to a journey to Kandy in Montreal, the engine bearing the name of his home state. The M2s have also had the honor of driving many famed menikes, kumaris and devis on their maiden journeys.

SRI LANKA: Tourist Arrivals in January 2023

In Sri Lanka, Over one lakh tourist arrivals have been recorded for January 2023. The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority reported an increase of over 20,000 tourists against January last year. The island nation had 13,759 tourist arrivals from India during the month. Sri Lanka has seen a significant increase in the number of tourist arrivals for the month of January 2023, compared to the numbers seen in January 2022.

A summary report issued by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) showed an increase of over 20,000 tourist arrivals, with a total of 102,545 arrivals reported within the first month of 2023.

January 2022 saw a total of 82,327 tourist arrivals into the island.

Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Harin Fernando took to Twitter, reaffirming that the growth seen in the number of inbound travellers was ‘encouraging’.

SRI LANKA: Tourist Arrivals – December 2022

The number of foreign tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka rose 2.7 percent year-on-year to 91,961 in December 2022, led by further improvement in international travelling following declines in COVID cases in many countries. Russia was the largest source of tourist visits with 22% of the total traffic received, followed by India (19%), the UK (8%), Australia (6%) and Germany (5%). On a monthly basis, tourist arrivals climbed 53.9%. In 2022, the number of foreign tourist arrivals surged 270.2% to 719,978.
Sri Lanka Tourist Arrivals Up 2.7% YoY in December

The number of foreign tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka rose 2.7% year-on-year to 91,961 in December 2022 due to a further improvement in international travel following declines in COVID cases in many countries. Russia was the largest source of tourist visits, constituting 22% of the total traffic recei... more
2023-01-09

Sri Lanka Tourist Arrivals Rise 34.9% YoY in November
The number of foreign tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka increased 34.9 percent year-on-year to 59,759 in November 2022, amid further improvement in international travelling following declines in COVID cases in many countries. India was the largest source of tourist visits with 16.8% of the total traffic... more
2022-12-16

Sri Lanka Tourist Arrivals Surge 84.5% YoY in October
The number of foreign tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka climbed 84.5 percent year-on-year to 42,026 in October 2022, amid further improvement in international travelling following declines in COVID cases in many countries. India was the largest source of tourist visits with 21% of the total traffic rece... more
2022-11-05

Sri Lanka welcomes over 700,000 tourists in 2022

Sri Lanka received over 700,000 tourists in 2022 despite the ongoing economic and political situation in the island nation which is recovering from the worst economic crisis in decades. This marks a significant increase from the pandemic hit in 2021. Sri Lanka received over 700,000 tourists in 2022 despite the ongoing economic and political situation in the island nation which is recovering from the worst economic crisis in decades.This marks a significant increase from the pandemic hit in 2021. In 2021, the tourist arrivals were under 195,000, according to Sri Lanka's Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA).

The tourism authority said that December 2022 recorded 91,691 arrivals behind the year’s highest amount of arrivals - 96,000 in February and 106,000 in March.

The December arrivals were dominated by over 19,000 from Russia and over 17,000 from India.

A total of 719,978 tourists visited Sri Lanka in 2022, according to the figures released from SLTDA.

Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million people, is going through its worst economic crisis since its independence in 1948 which was triggered by a severe paucity of foreign exchange reserves.

The tourist's arrival slowed from April because of the economic and political crisis kicking in.

There have been street protests in Sri Lanka against the government since early April due to its mishandling of the economic crisis.

From April to July, chaos reigned on the island nation with miles-long queues forming at fuel stations and irate residents coming out in thousands blocking roads with empty cooking gas cylinders. Over 20 people died in the serpentine fuel queues due to exhaustion in long lines and in certain cases the waiting period extending over 72 hours.

Sri Lanka Tourism had conducted campaigns to win back the tourism industry disturbed by the events connected to the economic crisis.

In September, the IMF announced that it will provide Sri Lanka with a loan of about USD 2.9 billion over four years under a preliminary agreement to help the bankrupt island nation tide over its worst economic crisis and protect the livelihoods of the people.

Canada-Sri Lanka Business Council – CSLBC

Canada-Sri Lanka Business Council is a business incorporated in 1990 with Corporations Canada, a division of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada. The Corporation Identifier (ID) is #2815141. The business office is registered in Toronto, Canada.

The Inaugural President of Canada-Sri Lanka Business Council (CSLBC) was Sir Christopher Ondaatje. Current President is Upali Obeyesekere. The mission of Canada-Sri Lanka Business Council is to assist and promote bilateral trade, investment, tourism, technology transfer and industrial cooperation between Canada & Sri Lanka.

The 32-year old council is headquartered in Toronto, and is proud of its position as the premier bilateral trade and investment council between Canada and Sri Lanka. Its bilateral partner is the Sri Lanka-Canada Business Council (SLCBC) which functions under the aegis of Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC). Well known business magnate Mr. Hemaka Amarasuriya was the inaugural president of the Sri Lanka Council.

Website: www.cslbc.ca
E-Mail: cslbcbiz@rogers.com
WhatsApp: +1 416 418 2207

Sri Lanka targets 100,000 tourists a month in 2022

Wednesday December 8, 2021

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka is expecting to attract about 100,000 tourists a month in 2022, or about half the 2018 level, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority chief Kimarli Fernando said.

Sri Lanka welcomed the highest ever number of tourists in 2018 with 2.3 million arrivals and it dipped to 1.9 million following the Easter Sunday bombings.

In October, Sri Lanka has welcomed 21,000 arrivals in October and it had already doubled to 40,000 by November which is part of the traditional winter peak season.

“In comparison, in 2018 we had 200,000 tourists every month,” Fernando said. “So even if we target 100,000 which is 50 percent less, then we have done well,”

“Also we must not forget that there is a large market in India. The airlines too have increased to Sri Lanka from India and I believe they don’t do charity.”

Sri Lanka has a very successful vaccination drive, and the country is open for tourism with a level of security, she said.

A number of airlines had already resumed flights to Sri Lanka. (Colombo/Dec07/2021)

Sri Lanka tourists hotels asked to take payments only in foreign exchange

Saturday January 22, 2022.

ECONOMYNEXT – Tourists visiting Sri Lanka are encouraged to pay hotels in foreign currency instead of converting money into rupees at the kerb market as the country is facing foreign exchange shortages due to liquidity injections.

The central bank said that registered hotels would be mandated to collect payments from tourists only in foreign exchange.

“We would ask the foreigners to pay either in credit card or at the time of the check out they would be paying in their currency of a foreign nation,” Central Bank Govenror Nivard Cabral said after raising rates 50 basis points, which would go some way into reducing money printing and forex shortages.

“If they encash, then they will have to do it at an authorized dealer, and show that receipt it was encashed by a certified dealer for that value.”

Tourist hotels in turn are expected to deposit the dollars in banks within two or three days.

Hotels typically pay a lower rate to tourists than commercial banks. Commercial banks are now expected to maintain a 200 to the US dollar peg, which has been weakened due to open market operations to keep rates down.

In the kerb market the dollars is around 240 to the US dollar.

After Sri Lanka opened for tourism, for the first time in 20 months it received 80,000 tourists in December 2021 compared to around 200,000 a month pre-pandemic.

So far in January around 45,000 tourists, mostly Russians have come to the country. (Colombo/Jan22/2022)

Canada-Sri Lanka Business Council - CSLBC

Promoting bilateral trade & investment between Canada & Sri Lanka

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