• Home
  • Post a press-release
  • Visibility packages
  • Subscribe email updates
  • Event Calendar
  • Contact

For Immediate Release | Official News Wire for the Travel Industry

Where press releases are breaking news

  • Home
  • Post a press-release
  • Visibility packages
  • Subscribe email updates
  • Event Calendar
  • Contact

Latest in the Sri Lanka wave of terror: Holy Sites must be respected

April 22, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

The latest from Sri Lanka in regards to eight deadly terror attacks on Easter Sunday leaves 290 dead and more than 500 people injured.

Among the dead are also foreign tourists including 3 from India, 1 from Portugal, 2 from Turkey, 3 from the UK, and 2 with both a U.S. and U.K. citizenship
9 foreigners are missing, 25 unidentified bodies are also believed to be foreigners.

The German embassy is working on identifying possible German tourists among the victims.

Bombs explosions were reported yesterday in eight locations

  • Katuwapitiya Church
  • Kochikade Church
  • Church in Batticaloa
  • Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo
  • Cinnamon Grand hotel
  • Kingsbury Hotel, Colombo
  • Dehiwala
  • Dematagoda

An improvised explosive device (IED) was discovered in close proximity to the Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo last night. The IED was successfully diffused and detonated by the members of the Sri Lanka Air Force.  The bomb was discovered along the Adiambalama road, in close proximity to the BIA hours before President Maithripala Sirisena returned to the country.

According to the Crime Division of the Sri Lanka Police (CCD) 13 individuals linked to the attack last night were arrested and 10 of them were later transferred into the custody for further investigations.

Officers of the Wellwatte police late last night managed to take into custody a van and a driver believed to have been used to transport the attackers. 24 people have been arrested thus far in relation to the incidents.

Schools and Universities remain closed, scheduled government examinations have been postponed. The Colombo Stock Exchange last night announced that they would not be open for trading until further notice.

The United States of America and the United Kingdom have issued travel advisories for Sri Lanka.

In the meantime, curfews and social media and instant message shut down are in effect in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka had planned to double tourist arrivals next year. This may be a big test to achieve such numbers.

The attacks that took place yesterday has also drawn international condemnation.

Here are some of their messages:

POPE FRANCIS

“I learned with sadness and pain of the news of the grave attacks, that precisely today, Easter, brought mourning and pain to churches and other places where people were gathered in Sri Lanka,” he told tens of thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square to hear his Easter Sunday message.

“I wish to express my affectionate closeness to the Christian community, hit while it was gathered in prayer, and to all the victims of such cruel violence.”

WORLD JEWISH CONGRESS PRESIDENT RONALD S. LAUDER

“World Jewry – in fact all civilized people – denounce this heinous outrage and appeal for zero tolerance of those who use terror to advance their objectives. This truly barbarous assault on peaceful worshippers on one of the holiest days in the Christian calendar serves as a painful reminder that the war against terror must be at the top of the international agenda and pursued relentlessly,” he said in a statement.

ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, JUSTIN WELBY, SPIRITUAL LEADER OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND

“The will to power leads to the murder of innocents in Sri Lanka. The utterly despicable destruction that on this holiest of days seeks to challenge the reality of the risen Christ. To say that darkness will conquer, that our choice is surrender or death. Jesus chose to defy this darkness and he is risen indeed.”

U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP

“The United States offers heartfelt condolences to the great people of Sri Lanka. We stand ready to help!,” he tweeted.

INDIAN PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI

“Strongly condemn the horrific blasts in Sri Lanka. There is no place for such barbarism in our region. India stands in solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka. My thoughts are with the bereaved families and prayers with the injured,” he said on Twitter.

PAKISTAN’S PRIME MINISTER IMRAN KHAN

“Strongly condemn the horrific terrorist attack in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday resulting in precious lives lost and hundreds injured. My profound condolences go to our Sri Lankan brethren. Pakistan stands in complete solidarity with Sri Lanka in their hour of grief,” he tweeted.

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN

“Vladimir Putin expressed condolences to Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena in connection with tragic consequences of terrorist acts,” his English Twitter account said.

GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL

“It is shocking that people who had gathered to celebrate Easter were the deliberate target of vicious attacks,” she wrote in a letter of condolence to Sri Lanka’s president.

FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON

“Deep sorrow following the terrorist attacks against churches and hotels in Sri Lanka. We firmly condemn these heinous acts. All our solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka and our thoughts go out to all victims’ relatives on this Easter Day,” he said on Twitter.

IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER MOHAMMAD JAVAD ZARIF

“Terribly saddened by terrorist attacks on Sri Lankan worshippers during Easter. Condolences to friendly govt & people of Sri Lanka. Our thoughts & prayers with the victims & their families. Terrorism is a global menace with no religion: it must be condemned & confronted globally,” he said on Twitter.

NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER JACINDA ARDERN

“New Zealand condemns all acts of terrorism, and our resolve has only been strengthened by the attack on our soil on the 15th of March. To see an attack in Sri Lanka while people were in churches and at hotels is devastating,” she said in a written statement.

“New Zealand rejects all forms of extremism and stands for freedom of religion and the right to worship safely. Collectively we must find the will and the answers to end such violence.”

SRI LANKA EMBASSY

It was with horror and sadness we heard of the bombings in Sri Lanka costing the lives of so many people. We condemn the horrendous attacks targetting innocent civilians. Our sympathies go out to all the victims. Maldives stands in solidarity with people & Govt. of Sri Lanka.

TORONTO

The Toronto sign has been dimmed in solidarity with Sri Lanka following today’s tragic attacks. We join our Sri Lankan community and our Christian community in mourning those killed and pray for the recovery of those injured.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: amp, and, announced, answers, appeal, arrested, arrivals, assault, attack, attackers, attacks, Aviation News, aviation-website, bia, big, blasts, bodies, bomb, bombings, bombs, Breaking Travel News, calendar, celebrate, challenge, chancellor, choice, Christian, church, churches, Cinnamon, citizenship, civilians, close, closed, Colombo, community, complete, condemn, condemnation, condemned, condolences, Congress, connection, costing, country, crime, custody, day, Days, dead, deadly, death, denounce, destruction, Division, Donald, Donald Trump, double, down, driver, Easter, effect, eight, embassy, end, England, English, exchange, explosions, Explosive, explosive device, express, facts, families, far, Feature, find, following, force, foreign, Foreign Minister, foreign tourists, foreigners, forms, Francis, freedom, French, French President Emmanuel Macron, friendly, German, german chancellor, German tourists, Global, globally, GO!, government, Government Affairs, Grand, Grand Hotel, grief, help, hit, holy, holy sites, hotel, Hotels, Hour, hours, in, incidents, including, India, Indian, Indian Prime Minister, injured, International, International Airport, Iranian, issued, IT, Jesus, Jewish, join, Justin, killed, Kingdom, LA, Lanka, Lankan, last, late, later, LATEST, leader, leads, letter, LGBTQ, linked, lives lost, locations, lost, maldives, march, May, media, members, messages, minister, missing, mourning, murder, New, New Zealand, News, night, notice, numbers, offers, officers, only, open, out, outrage, pain, Pakistan, peaceful, People, people injured, Place, places, planned, police, Pope, Pope Francis, portugal, postponed, power, pray, president, President Donald, President Donald Trump, Prime, Prime Minister, Putin, ready, reality, recovery, region, religion, reported, resolve, right, road, Russian, Russian President, s, sadness, said, scheduled, schools, see, Shangri-La, Shangri-La Hotel, shut, shut-down, sign, sites, social, social media, solidarity, spiritual, spiritual leader, Square, Sri, Sri Lanka, sri lanka president, Sri Lanka travel news, Sri Lankan, St, stands, statement, states, stock, successfully, surrender, target, terror, terror attacks, terrorism, terrorist, terrorist attack, terrorist attacks, test, the United States, thousands, to, TO BE, today, told, tolerance, top, Toronto, tourism, tourist, tourist arrivals, tourists, trading, Tragic, transport, Travel, travel advisories, Travel Destination News, Travelwire News, Trump, Turkey, tweeted, twitter, U.S. president, UK, United, United Kingdom, United States, United States of America, use, used, Van, victims, violence, war, wave, We, were, WHO, working, World, wrote, year, yesterday, Zealand, ZERO, zero tolerance

Shangri La Hotel Colombo Veteran Chef killed with 160 people in 6 terror attacks in Sri Lanka

April 21, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

Shangri La Colomo

Shangri La Colombo Veteran chef Shantha Mayadunne and her daughter are among 138 or more dead this morning at 6 deadly terror blasts on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka.  Several local news sources report more than  160 dead and among them 8 foreigners.

Explosions occurred at

  • St. Anthony’s Church
  • Kochchikade St.Sebastian’s Church
  • Katuwapitiya Church in Batticaloa
  • The Kingsbury Hotel 
  • Shangri La hotel
  • Cinnamon Grand Hotel

“How can we fight terrorism when secretly we support the extreme ideologies of one terrorist group? Instead of saying ”terrorism has no religion” please come out and say that religious fundamentalism leads to terrorism and it should be condemned, is a comment eTN received from Sri Lanka.

Shangri La Colomo
Shantha Mayadunne, Chef Shangri La Colombo died in terror attack Easter Sunday

According to unconfirmed information the attack at Shangri La hotel was carried out by suicide bomber Zahran Hashim, while Abu Mohammad has been identified as the attacker at the Batticaloa church.

According to sources, Abu Mahammad was named after Taha Subhi Falaha, known as Abu Muhammad al-Adnani al-Shami, was the official spokesperson and a senior leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. He was described as the chief of its external operations. He was the second most senior leader of the Islamic State after its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdad

 

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: and, attack, attacker, attacks, Baghdad, blasts, Breaking Travel News, caption, chef, chief, church, Cinnamon, Colombo, come, comment, condemned, daughter, dead, deadly, died, Easter, eTN, explosions, External, extreme, Feature, fight, Food Travel News, foreigners, Grand, Grand Hotel, Group, Hospitality News, hotel, ID, in, information, Instead, Iraq, Islamic, IT, killed, known, LA, Lanka, leader, leads, local, most, named, nbsp, News, News articles, official, operations, out, People, received, religion, religious, report, s, saying, second, senior, Shangri-La, sources, Sri, Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka travel news, St, State, suicide, suicide bomber, support, terror, terror attack, terror attacks, terrorism, terrorist, to, Travel Destination News, Travelwire News, veteran, We, Wine News

At least three people die jumping from Bangkok skyscraper to escape hotel fire

April 10, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

A 57-floor hotel and shopping building has gone up in flames in Bangkok, Thailand. At least three people have died jumping to escape the fire, which ripped through the popular tourist spot.

The fire broke out at the Centara Grand hotel and Centralworld shopping plaza at around 6pm local time on Wednesday. Plumes of black smoke spewed out of the building, and three jumped to their deaths from the horrific blaze, local media reported.

Shocking footage shared on social media shows the smoke pouring out of the burning skyscraper.

Bangkok’s typically gridlocked traffic hampered the efforts of emergency services to reach the scene of the blaze, but the fire was reportedly brought under control an hour or so after it broke out.

Bangkok Governor Assawin Kwanmuang told reporters that the fire broke out on the eighth floor, in a document storage room.

The Centara Grand hotel is the flagship hotel of the Central Group, and one of the largest hotels in the Thai capital.

Wednesday’s blaze is not the first time the Centara Grand has gone up in flames. Anti-government protesters set the hotel and shopping complex on fire in 2010, after months of demonstrations. The fire gutted a department store and left parts of the building closed for months of repair work.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: and, anti-government, bangkok, black, Breaking Travel News, building, capital, centara, Centara Grand, Central, CentralWorld, closed, complex, control, deaths, demonstrations, department, die, died, document, efforts, emergency, emergency services, escape, Feature, fire, first, flagship, floor, free, government, Governor, Grand, Grand Hotel, Group, Hospitality News, hotel, hotel fire, Hotel Travel News, Hotels, Hour, in, International Travel News, IT, jumping, largest, local, Luxury Travel News, media, months, News articles, out, People, popular, protesters, repair, reported, Resort News, room, s, scene, services, Set, shopping, shows, Skyscraper, smoke, social, social media, Storage, Thai, thailand, Thailand Travel News, through, time, to, told, tourism, tourist, tourist spot, traffic, Travel Destination News, Travel Disaster & Emergency News, Travelwire News, up, work, World News

19 more hotels with 3000 rooms to be added to Marriott Hotels in Middle East and Africa

April 8, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

Marriott International expects to add 19 new properties and more than 3,000 rooms to its  Middle East and Africa portfolio in 2019.  Underpinning a strong demand for its diverse brands, the new additions are in line with the company’s expansion plans to add more than 100 new properties and nearly 26,000 rooms across the region by the end of 2023.  Marriott estimates its development pipeline through 2023 represents up to $8 billion of investment from property owners and is expected to generate over 20,000 new jobs across the region.

“Our growth across the Middle East and Africa is fuelled by a strong demand for our diverse range of well-established brands, each offering different attributes that cater to this region’s ever changing and evolving marketplace,” said Jerome Briet, Chief Development Officer, Middle East & Africa, Marriott International. “This region continues to present us with opportunities to further grow and enhance our portfolio across new and established markets.  While the majority of our growth will be through new-builds, we are seeing an increasing number of conversion opportunities, especially in the luxury space.”

Year-to-date, the company has opened five new properties in the region and is expected to add 14 more – bringing its portfolio across the Middle East and Africa to nearly 270 properties and over 60,000 rooms – by the end of the year.

Unwavering Demand for Luxury Brands that offer Unrivalled Experiences

The company is poised to expand its luxury footprint in the region by more than 70 percent by the end of 2023, with more than 25 luxury properties under development.   The company expects to grow its luxury portfolio in 2019 with seven anticipated openings across four brands:

  • With the recent opening of W Dubai – The Palm and the anticipated openings of W Muscat and W Yas Island, W Hotels should double its portfolio in the region.
  • St. Regis anticipates debuting in Jordan and Egypt with the openings of The St. Regis Amman and The St. Regis Cairo.
  • The iconic North Island is expected to of world-renowned hotels and resorts.
  • JW Marriott anticipates marking its entry into Oman with the opening of the JW Marriott Muscat Convention Center.

Substantial Growth across Premium Brands

The growth of Marriott’s premium brands remains steady across the region with more than 30 hotels expected to be added to the portfolio by the end of 2023. By the end of 2019, the company expects to have added four new hotels under its premium portfolio for the region:

  • The Autograph Collection anticipates marking its debut in Kenya with the addition of Sankara Nairobi.
  • Marriott Hotels and Marriott Executive Apartments strengthened its presence in Saudi Arabia with the recent openings in the Diplomatic Quarter of Riyadh.  Marriott Executive Apartments is also expected to open a new property in Madinah later this year.
  • Marriott Hotels is also planning to open its second property in Algeria, in the capital city of Algiers

In addition to the openings in 2019, Marriott is also focused on the transformation journey of Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, the company’s most global brand.  In the region, Sheraton Jeddah Hotel and Sheraton Grand Hotel, Dubai are currently undergoing renovations that represent the brand’s vision for the future.

Regional Demand for Select-Service Hotels Continues to Fuel Growth

Currently representing over 40 percent of the company’s development pipeline through 2023, select-serve brands continue their rapid growth trajectory across the Middle East and Africa.  Building on the momentum from 2018 – with ten properties added across the region, including four Aloft hotels in the UAE – the company expects to add seven new properties by the end of this year:

  • Four Points by Sheraton anticipates expanding its portfolio with a total of four openings in 2019.The brand recently opened properties in in Sharjah (UAE) and Setif (Algeria) and is on-track to open two more properties this year including, Four Points by Sheraton Dar es Salaam New Africa in Tanzania and Four Points by Sheraton Lahore in Pakistan.
  • Residence Inn by Marriott expects to make its debut in Algeria with the opening of Residence Inn by Marriott Algiers
  • Protea Hotels by Marriott plans to expand the brand in Uganda with the opening of Protea Hotel by Marriott Naguru Skyz.
  • Element Hotels is set to launch its first property in Africa with the opening of Element Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: amp, and, apartments, arabia, Autograph Collection, billion, brand, brands, Breaking Travel News, bringing, building, Cairo, capital, capital city, cater, center, chief, Chief Development Officer, city, collection, company, continue, continues, convention, Convention Center, Corporate News, currently, Dar, Dar es Salaam, date, debut, demand, development, different, diplomatic, double, double its portfolio, Dubai, East, Egypt, Element, end, entry, executive, expand, expanding, expansion, expansion plans, expected, experiences, first, Four Points, fuel, future, Global, Grand, Grand Hotel, grow, Growth, Hospitality News, hotel, Hotel Travel News, Hotels, hotels and resorts, iconic, in, including, increasing, inn, International, Investment, island, jeddah, Jobs, Jordan, journey, JW Marriott, Kenya, later, launch, line, Luxury, luxury brands, luxury properties, Make, marketplace, markets, Marriott, Marriott hotels, Marriott International, Middle, Middle East, momentum, most, Muscat, Nairobi, nearly, New, new hotels, new jobs, new properties, North, number, offer, offering, officer, Oman, open, opened, opening, openings, over, owners, Pakistan, percent, pipeline, planning, plans, points, portfolio, premium, presence, present, properties, property, Protea Hotels, quarter, range, recent, region, regional, remains, renovations, represent, representing, represents, Residence, Residence Inn, resorts, Riyadh, rooms, s, said, Salaam, Saudi, Saudi Arabia. (, second, seeing, serve, service, Set, seven, Sharjah, Sheraton, Sheraton hotels, space, St, St. Regis, steady, strong, strong demand, Tanzania, The Region, through, to, TO BE, total, transformation, Travelwire News, UAE, UAE travel news, Uganda, up, US, vision, W, W Hotels, We, World, Yas Island, year

Search




Recent Articles

  • Minister Bartlett Welcomes Resurgence of Villas Sub-Sector
  • Tourism Seychelles Principal Secretary shares industry successes at 10th Arab Aviation Summit
  • Speed Networking Events Generate Over $650 Million in Revenue for Small Businesses Supplying Tourism Sector, says Bartlett
  • Enjoying the Suite Life at Sandals Resorts
  • Farmers Reap $108 Million in Revenue in first Two Months of 2023 through Revolutionary ALEX Platform
  • SAUDIA Signs an Agreement with Boeing to Order 49 Boeing 787 Dreamliners
  • Recovery Continues: Fraport’s 2022 Fiscal Year Marked by Strong Demand
  • Fraport Traffic Figures – February 2023: Passenger Growth Remains Strong
  • Seychelles Dazzles Partners at ITB Berlin With Promise of Endless Summer
  • SAEI Finds Perfect Partner to Expand MRO Reach to Helicopters

Subscribe to daily email update

RSS eTN Articles

  • Half a Billion Ultra Rich Make for Luxury Tourism Treasure
  • Minister Bartlett Welcomes Resurgence of Villas Sub-Sector
  • New Appointment to Royal Caribbean Group’s Board of Directors
  • WestJet Cargo 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighters Certified
  • Air Canada Registers with Office Québécois de la Langue Française
  • Airbus reports share buyback transactions 13-17 March
  • Urgent Demand for US Air Travel Upgrades
  • Cagliari Airport Readies for Record Summer
  • 5 Million Euros for Caravaca De La Cruz for Religious Tourism
  • Bridge Over Strait of Messina Gets the Green Light

Archives

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • August 2016

Content

and Breaking Travel News Business CEO experience first free hotel Hotels in including Industry International International Travel News IT minister most New News articles only over People s said sandals The World through time to TO BE tourism Tours Transportation News Travel Travel & Tourism Organizations News Travel Destination News Travelwire News up We were WHO World World News year years

Copyright © 2023 · Metro Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in