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Potential Global Economic Downturn and Sargassum real threats to Tourism, says Bartlett

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Jamaica Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has indicated that Jamaica is taking note that the potential global economic downturn and sargassum phenomena are real threats to the tourism industry.

“We recall the recession of 2008 that impacted economies globally and recognize the need to strategize in light of data and trends. Despite this global recession, Jamaica’s tourism grew by an average 3.5% and we will need to learn from those lessons,” said Minister Bartlett.

There is general concern that the global economy may be on the verge of a slight downturn and possible recession. There is also concern regarding sargassum, which is a type of seaweed that can negatively impact tourist destinations when washed up on shore. 

Minister Bartlett said, “The possibility of a global economic downturn can have a devastating impact on not only Jamaica’s tourism but the region’s tourism. Coupled with this potential threat is now the impending influx of sargassum on our shores. What this means is that we must act decisively and swiftly to collaborate on the best way forward to get ahead of these threats.” 

Minister Bartlett was speaking at a meeting with members of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) today at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, to discuss the threat of sargassum on the island’s tourism. The meeting included senior officials from the Ministry and its agencies, key hotel stakeholders and President of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourist Association.

“This meeting with our hotel partners is critical as we seek ways to develop economic resilience. These threats have the potential to negatively impact our livelihoods given the fact that the Caribbean is so heavily dependent on tourism.

Potential Global Economic Downturn and Sargassum real threats to Tourism, says Bartlett
Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett (C), at the start of the meeting with key hotel stakeholders at the JHTA to discuss the threat of sargassum on the island’s tourism. Joining Minister Bartlett (L-R) are, President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, Omar Robinson, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Mrs. Jennifer Griffith, Executive Director of the Tourism Enhancement Fund, Dr. Carey Wallace and Director of Projects at the Tourism Enhancement Fund, Johan Rampair.

Last year, the Caribbean welcomed 29.9 million visitors and contributed 40% of the region’s GDP but if we do not act, we could see our growth in arrivals and earnings go down,” added Minister Bartlett.  

Minister Bartlett also used the opportunity to have partners from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) make a presentation on their suggested strategy to cut off the sargassum prior to it reaching our shores and to get feedback from hoteliers.

President of the JHTA, Omar Robinson also highlighted the need to urgently identify solutions to “mitigate against any potential fallout this could have on our tourism product.” 

Minister Bartlett added that as it relates to sargassum, “The Global Tourism and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCM) is leading the charge to collaborate and conduct research to come up with workable solutions. Earlier this week, the GTRCM also met with the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, to explore future collaboration regarding research on the sargassum challenges faced by the Caribbean towards identifying solutions.”

Minister Bartlett, through the GTRCM, recently spearheaded a regional sargassum forum which included mechanical engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Precision Engineering Research Group; and noted researchers from the University of the West Indies, Mona and the GTRCM. 

On October 9 and 10 of this year, the GTRCM will host a second summit with leading researchers geared towards climatic disruptions with a focus on sargassum.                     

Media Contact:                                                                                                      

Corporate Communications Division

Ministry of Tourism

64 Knutsford Boulevard       

Kingston 5

Tel: (876) 920-4926-30

Fax: (876) 906 1729

Lufthansa makes dedicated staff look bad: The eTN Hero is Patricia Dzai of Swissport Johannesburg

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Lufthansa

“My personal hero today is Ms. Patricia Dzai. Patricia works for Swissport in Johannesburg, South Africa,” said eTN Publisher Juergen Steinmetz. Swissport is one of the largest aviation ground-handling agencies operating in countries around the world.

Major airlines hire Swissport to manage customer relations and logistics when it comes to baggage handling, including lost or misplaced items.

Lufthansa German Airlines’ ground handler in Johannesburg is Swissport. I recently traveled from Nice to Cape Town via Frankfurt and Johannesburg on Lufthansa German Airlines. I am a United Airlines Star Alliance Gold member and traveled on Lufthansa in Business class. Lufthansa is a member of Star Alliance.

When I arrived in Johannesburg, I heard my name called by Lufthansa’s lost baggage office handled by Swissport.

I was told my tube was still in Frankfurt, and they would put it on the next flight to Johannesburg. I explained it was of utmost importance to have the tube for an important trade show event, the World Travel Market in Cape Town, in the morning.

Patricia Dzai, the Swissport agent in Johannesburg, wanted to make sure this would be possible and sent an urgent message to Lufthansa in Frankfurt. The message said:

 

 

 

 

 

I was pleased to know my tube would go on LH 576 directly to Cape Town almost in time for the start of World Travel Market.

I went on to fly to Cape Town and received a text message in the evening saying my tube would be on the Lufthansa flight to Johannesburg, which was different from what Patricia had requested. Since it was late and the Swissport office in Johannesburg was closed, I was able to find a non-published phone number for Lufthansa baggage service in Frankfurt. Lufthansa, like most airlines, is hiding phone numbers to encourage passengers to communicate only by email.

I was told by Lufthansa Baggage Service in Frankfurt no such message to forward my tube to Cape Town was ever received by Swissport Johannesburg. The agent went on to say that passengers are often not told the truth by Swissport agents.

The Lufthansa agent in Frankfurt explained that his job was not to help me, since this was only handled in Johannesburg. I argued my tube is in Frankfurt and not Johannesburg, and the handling agent for Swissport in Johannesburg was closed.

The agent then said he was now doing a one-time exception for me and would reroute my tube on LH576 directly to Cape Town. He said there were 5 hours to get this done, still plenty of time according to him.

The next day I received another message telling me again the tube was on its way to Johannesburg instead of Cape Town.

I called Swissport in Johannesburg, and the news not could have been worse. They told me, apologizing, that my tube was still in Frankfurt for a second day, and they did not know why.

I again called the baggage-handling office in Frankfurt and was again told it’s all Swissport’s mistake for not telling them where to send it.

This time I was angry and called Swissport Johannesburg again. I asked Patricia why she was lying about this. I told her she never sent this request to Frankfurt, according to Lufthansa.

Ten minutes later, I received an email with a time-stamped screenshot from Patricia Dzai showing me exactly what was requested by her in the first place.

Patricia actually had gone out of her way originally to make sure I would be united with my tube on time and in Cape Town. I felt bad thinking she didn’t care and didn’t do anything, when in fact she did.

It shows that big companies like Lufthansa have a serious customer service issue. They hide behind a huge system and are trained to say it’s not their job and simply blame others for company shortcomings.

There was no way I could talk to anyone at Lufthansa about this, and my urgent email to them on the day I was trying to get the tube re-routed was just responded to 2 weeks after I was already back home in Hawaii. Lufthansa offered a 200 euro compensation.

No explanation was given and no apology for accusing Patricia Dzai and Swissport for not doing their job.

I finally received my tube on the last day after the trade show and took it back to the US unopened. When I changed planes in Frankfurt, I asked the agent working in the Senator Lounge to speak to a supervisor in baggage handling about this case and compensation. She told me I have to send an email, which I had already done days ago.

She gave me some chocolate and said they get customers’ complaints all the time and do their best to help and respond, but the back-up system by the airline is not there.

It’s all about a giant non-caring anonymous machine.

I extend my apologies to Patricia Dzai from Swissport, as I now understand she was also a victim of shortcomings created by Lufthansa German Airlines.

Patricia Dzai is the eTN Hero for today.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Seychelles Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine visits Shannon College graduates

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The Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, Minister Didier Dogley accompanied by the Principal Secretary for Tourism, Anne Lafortune and the Director for Tourism Human Resource Development, Diana Quatre visited graduates of Shannon College at their current place of employment as part of a mentoring initiative, following a resolution at the last committee meeting held in December 2018.

The visit was conducted at four different hotels, namely the Four Seasons Resort Seychelles, Kempinski Seychelles Resort, AVANI Seychelles Barbarons Resort & Spa and the Constance Ephelia Seychelles on Monday 15th April 2019.

The purpose of the visit was to meet with graduates of Shannon College who are working in the hotels of Seychelles and establish a communication channel between the graduates and the Ministry.

The first hotel to be visited was the Four Seasons Resort Seychelles employing the largest cohort, comprising of 7 Shannon graduates. This was followed by Kempinski Seychelles Resort & Spa with two graduates, Avani Seychelles Barbarons Resort & Spa with one graduate and the Constance Ephelia Seychelles with 3 Shannon graduates.

During the visit, graduates were given the opportunity to express their views, in the presence of their hotel managers. The main point of discussion was centred on the minimum salary and career progression within the hospitality industry. Overall the graduates in the four hotels were satisfied with their working condition and the opportunity offered to develop their career further.

Minister Dogley stated that “The visits of the Shannon graduates in their workplace and the meetings held with their General Managers provided an excellent opportunity for me to learn about the progress they have made as professionals in the hospitality industry.  Most of them had clear career paths and personal development programs.

It was a real pleasure and an eye opener to discover that the majority of them are already working as managers in some of our top brand hotels.  This in itself shows that the vision government had for more well-trained and highly skilled Seychellois to take leadership roles in our hospitality industry is becoming a reality.”

 

The Ministerial delegation will also be visiting graduates from the other tourism establishments in order to provide similar opportunities for interaction. These visits are in line with the goal of the Ministry to ensure that the tourism sector is equipped with qualified individuals and shall endeavour to continue to assist graduates in achieving their dreams of progression to senior positions within the hotel industry.

 

To date, there are 74 Shannon College graduates who have gone through this programme.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Art Gallery or Hotel? Hotel Oriental Express in Tokyo Ginza

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Hotel Oriental Express in Tokyo Ginza is scheduled to open on July 26, 2019.

The concept of Hotel Oriental Express Tokyo Ginza is the “Art Gallery Hotel” where guests can experience an extraordinary stay in the whimsical atmosphere of Ginza artworks generated in collaboration with art galleries in Ginza. The hotel also aims to play a role for Japan based young talented artists to express their artworks to guests from all over the world.

The lobby and rooms, which are themed in white with an accent of silver or in Japanese, “Gin” for “Ginza,” are decorated with carefully selected wall art which express the four seasons of Japan. The lobby doubles as a gallery space, featuring beautiful artworks from partnered galleries in Ginza. Hotel guests can purchase their favorite artworks on the spot.

Experience the town of art Ginza

The lobby and rooms, which are themed in white with an accent of silver or in Japanese, “Gin” for “Ginza,” are decorated with carefully selected wall art which express the four seasons of Japan. The lobby doubles as a gallery space, featuring beautiful artworks from partnered galleries in Ginza. Hotel guests can purchase their favorite artworks on the spot.

  • Wall art designTop left: Wisteria in full bloom in early summer, gently blowing in the breezeTop right: Goldfish scooping at a summer festival; Fireworks reflecting on the water surface Bottom left: Melting snow ice, awaiting spring
  • Examples of wall art design in partnership with Nada Art Gallery
  • Wall Art Artist: Ms. Maya Ogata

Ms. Maya Ogata began her art career with a graphic design company after graduating from university. While working for this company, Ms. Ogata  was actively engaged in numerous solo and group exhibitions as a wall art artist. Ms. Ogata has painted walls of guest houses, stores, and event spaces as well as presented her art in live performances nationwide.

Revive Your Senses

Breakfast: On a daily basis, the breakfast buffet offers five types of seasonal soups. The hotel’s chef recommends this simple but nutritious breakfast to revive your senses and to start your day. The soups can also be made to go, so guests can enjoy their breakfast at their convenience.

Cafe: During the daytime, the restaurant area is exclusively open to all hotel guests to be used at their leisure. Guests can freely relax and enjoy their time surrounded by artworks, with a drink of their choice from the hotel’s selection of coffee, herbal tea, green tea etc.

Enhance your sensitivity

Music: All guest rooms are equipped with a Bluetooth speaker and embellished with carefully selected wall art depicting beautiful flowers of each season in Japan. Guests can look, feel, and embrace the art and sounds while spending a relaxing time in their room.

https://tokyoginza.hotelorientalexpress.com/

 

Travel News | eTurboNews

Soap bars around the world get a new life from Red Lion Hotels

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Based on US market statistics, the combined hospitality segment produces close to 440 billion pounds of solid waste per year. A great amount of this waste is made up of discarded soap and bottled amenities. However, through Clean the World’s Hospitality Recycling Program, these life-saving hygiene products can skip the landfill and, instead, be sent to one of Clean the World’s five Recycling Operations Centers where the products are sanitized, fully recycled, and given a second-life to help those in need. It’s a win-win for the hospitality industry, helping to reduce waste and transform lives around the world.

In celebration of Earth Day, Clean the World, dedicated to WASH (WAter, Sanitation and Hygiene) and global sustainability, is joining forces with RLH Corporation to collect and recycle gently-used bars of soap and bottled amenities at Hotel RL locations nationwide to help fight the spread of preventable diseases while preserving our planet.

“We are excited to collaborate with Clean the World,” said RLH Corporation SVP of Brand Strategy Amanda Marcello. “At Hotel RL, we are focused on the modern-day traveler, with core hotel elements that allow guests to immerse themselves in local culture while maintaining their connection to the world. We are always searching for opportunities to better our planet, the communities we live in and those around the world. With Clean the World, we will now be able to make a significant improvement in reducing the amount of waste our hotels produce while benefiting communities worldwide by recycling our bath amenities.”

Together, this Earth Day, Clean the World and RLH Corporation are bringing awareness to sustainable practices within the travel and hospitality industry. Eight Hotel RL locations adopting the Hospitality Recycling Program this week will begin recycling all soap and bottled amenities from over 1,600 guestrooms. In just one year, the Hotel RL portfolio of hotels is projected to provide over 6,700 pounds of soap and bottled amenities to Clean the World, resulting in the creation of an estimated 23,000 bars of newly-recycled soap to be distributed to those in need locally and globally.

“We are thrilled to join forces with RLH Corporation this Earth Day to share the importance of implementing new, eco-friendly approaches to daily operations that benefit and help to preserve our planet,” said Shawn Seipler, founder and CEO of Clean the World. “By diverting leftover soap and bottled amenities from landfills, RLH Corporation will not only help Clean the World provide health and hygiene programs to children and families around the world, but also set a great example of CSR and sustainability throughout the hospitality industry, encouraging others to help make a difference.”

Through this joint venture, newly-recycled bars of Clean the World soap will make their way to shelters, food banks and disaster relief initiatives in the United States, in addition to supporting hygiene education internationally through Clean the World Foundation’s WASH Education programming. Our global programming, in places like India, Kenya and Tanzania, has contributed to a 60 percent decrease in the rate of hygiene-related deaths in children under 5, helping to keep children healthy and in school.

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eTN Hero: Cordelia Igel, team leader at Vox Restaurant, Grand Hyatt Hotel Berlin

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Many of us traveling around the globe on business have travel stories to tell. I spend more than 100 fully-paid nights every year in Hyatt Hotels around the world. Doing this, you get to know a brand more closely.

I am collecting my own list of heroes and honoring each of them eTN Heroes. You cannot buy eTN Heroes, and this title is a publisher’s recommendation based on personal experience.

I realize there are so many heroes in the hospitality industry and even more in the rest of the travel and tourism industry, so my personal experience is only a very small token of well-deserved recognition.

Today, I would like to introduce Cordelia Igel, a senior team leader at Vox Restaurant at the Grand Hyatt, Berlin, Germany as the latest eTN Hero.

Travelers like me experience hotels as a second home. When something doesn’t make sense, I am always outspoken and hope my criticism is heard. I want the businesses that cater to my travel to do well.

Loving my espresso every day is a passion many fellow travelers share. For me, it doesn’t make sense when international hotels cannot see that good espresso is a major selling point. For me, it’s a major buying point when selecting a hotel.

For example, I stopped staying at the Marriott Newark Airport where the Starbucks in this hotel is only open from 6 am to 10 am.

It boggles my mind because people come in 24 hours a day because after all, it’s an airport hotel.

With travelers arriving or leaving this hotel don’t always go by Eastern Standard time.

A good cup of coffee becomes as important as a good bed or a hot shower.

The same goes for food. I select hotels where I can get my breakfast, lunch, or dinner 24/7 because my body time clock is not always synchronized with the time in the destination.

Mistakes happen, especially when you’re jetlagged. One of the worst was when I picked up a suitcase that belonged to another passenger in Tokyo after arriving from Abu Dhabi and showed up at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo with the wrong luggage. Takashi Kai, Assistant Manager at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo, was my first eTN Hero that day and managed this impossible and frustrating situation for me.

Here why I am so thankful to Cordelia Igel, the senior team leader at Vox Restaurant at the Grand Hyatt Berlin, my latest eTN Hero.

In March during ITB  I stayed at the hotel for 8 nights.

The hotel has a fantastic breakfast and a great pool/gym area along with a very central and exciting location close to Potsdamer Platz.

Rooms are a little small and average in Berlin, but acceptable. I may have been spoiled. I stayed at the Hyatt Haus Duesseldorf before arriving in Berlin during the same trip and also one night at the Park Hyatt Hamburg and loved my apartment and hotel suite. My apartment at Duesseldorf Hyatt Haus was over the top – washer, dryer, living room, bedroom, and an outside patio with a million dollar view, and enough space to entertain 100 people.

Here is why Cordelia at the Grand Hyatt Berlin is my hero. Attending a very busy trade show is always a challenge when managing a busy scheduled and sleep. My morning espresso is of utmost importance. In the past, when staying at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Berlin, I went to Starbucks across the street from the hotel, but this year, Starbucks was no longer there.

What were my options? As a Globalist member in the Hyatt loyalty program, my breakfast is always included. Hyatt Germany is not one of the hotels forcing Globalists to take their breakfast only in the Club lounge.

The continental breakfast at the Hyatt Grand Clun is usually not comparable with the wide variety of food found at VOX restaurant.

So everything was perfect in the morning, right? Wrong!

When trying the Club lounge espresso, I should have known it wasn’t up to my standards as it was served from a push-button machine. However, not all Grand Clubs are the same. At the Grand Hyatt Seoul, Korea the Espresso machine is the best I found in the Hyatt system so far.

At the Grand Hyatt Berlin, when dining in the hotel’s 5-star restaurant VOX, a 3-star espresso is served from a push-button machine.

When I asked the lead server, Cordelia, why they are serving such a superb breakfast and offer only a push button machine-made espresso she offered a solution.

The only good espresso machine in the hotel not using push-buttons was at the hotel bar. Cordelia went to the hotel bar and personally hand-crafted a cup of real espresso for me. She also managed to bring it back within one minute after pouring. Magical!

Every morning after that, Ms. Igel knew what to do. And for that extra touch of service and not hesitating a second to go above and beyond, Vielen Dank Frau Igel, you are my eTN Hero today.

 

 

 

 

Travel News | eTurboNews

Two Australian Heroes killed when saving a tourist from drowning

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Tourism and Dairy are popular in  Port Campbell, a coastal town in Victoria, Australia. The town is on the Great Ocean Road, west of the Twelve Apostles, in the Shire of Corangamite and has less than 500 residents.

Two of these residents a father and son today drowned trying to rescue a tourist from rough on Sunday have been described as selfless members of the local community and “like peas in a pod”.

Ross, 71, and Andrew Powell, 32, were life-long members of the Port Campbell Surf Life Saving Club and were prominent figures in the local dairy farming industry.

They, along with one other lifesaver, were attempting to save a tourist at Sherbrook River, near the Twelve Apostles on Victoria’s south-west coast, on Sunday morning when their boat flipped.

The father and son were declared dead at the scene, while the third lifesaver was seriously injured and airlifted to The Alfred hospital.

Ross was an inaugural member of the lifesaving club when it was formed in 1965 and maintained it his whole life putting his community first.

A 30-year-old male tourist got into trouble wading near the entrance to the Sherbrook River, a 10-minute drive from the Twelve Apostles, about 11am.

Rough surf caused the rescue boat to flip, tossing the three lifesavers into the ocean in an area Cr Trotter said was notoriously dangerous.

An emergency helicopter managed to safe one of rescuers and the tourist out of the water, however, the father and son’s bodies were later found.

The surviving rescue worker, a man in his 50s, has injuries to his back and legs and was airlifted to The Alfred hospital in a serious condition. He remained in a serious but stable condition on Sunday evening.

The tourist who was swept into the water suffered hypothermia and was taken by road ambulance to the Warrnambool hospital in a stable condition.

 

A flipped rescue boat at Port Campbell on Sunday.

Mr James said initial investigations found all three lifesavers had been wearing life jackets.

Earlier reports suggested the tourist was taking photographs when he was swept off a rock at the mouth of the river, but emergency services say this was not the case.

Another rescue boat near Port Campbell.

The Port Campbell Hotel said on Facebook that live music at the venue had been canceled due to the “heartbreaking tragedy in our community”.

Police are preparing a report for the coroner

Travel News | eTurboNews

Ghana Tourism makes money on selfies

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Ghana Tourism is a big business and full of surprises. This is also true for  Mr Guru, Ghanaian,  a comedian who went to Facebook after being asked to pay GH¢4.00 , what is a little less than a US-Dollar when he wanted to take a photo when crossing Kwame Nkrumah bridge.

In his Facebook message he addressed the Ghana President: “Your Excellency Mr. President, this is the receipt given to me today 19th April 2019 at Adomi bridge as a fee for pictures I wanted to take as a Ghanaian on the bridge Kwame Nkrumah built and which Mahama renovated.

The people in charge told me that the order is from the President, that even if you want to take selfie it’s 2gh per person. Your Excellency if indeed you authorized this God forsaken tax then am disappointed in you. How much do Ghanaians pay when they travel to Dubai, China, American, etc yet those countries are 100× developed. Even China’s world’s longest 30 miles sea bridge to Hong Kong is free, what is happening? What a shame!!!!

It’s said; there is no free lunch anywhere. Henceforth, you may have a good phone with a good front camera but you may have to pay between GH¢2.00 and GH¢4.00 to pose for a picture on Kwame Nkrumah’s Adomi Bridge.

One of the longest bridge on the Volta Lake in Ghana built some decades ago was recently renovated to avert any possible danger to the lives of motorists.

The government instituted the levy as a measure to rake in some revenue to sustain its numerous projects hence a levy on the bridge.

Tourists have taken to social media to cry over the levies expressing disappointment at the move by government.

Johannes Nartey Mr Guru, Ghanaian comedian took to Facebook  to lament after being asked to pay GH¢4.00

 

Travel News | eTurboNews

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

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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

“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

Terror Attack on Shangri La, Kingsbury Hotel and three churches in Sri Lanka

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The Shangri La Hotel Colombo, the Kingsbury Hotel and three churches in Kochchikade and Negombo were targeted by terrorists today in Sri Lanka. This is another attack on the travel and tourism industry, an important sector of Sri Lanka’s economy.

At 11.10h local time, a happy Easter in Sri Lanka turned deadly. A major deadly terror attack in Sri Lanka with five explosions are reported. Two explosions in St. Anthony’s Church in Kochchikade and more in Negombo Katuwapitiya Church.

Another explosion in Kingsbury Hotel and 3rd floor Shangri-La in Colombo. The Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo overlooks the Indian Ocean and is located in the heart of the business district and the capital’s buzzing social scene.

The five-star Kingsbury Hotel in Colombo is located in-between Galle Face Green, the World Trade Centre, and the Dutch Hospital Precinct.

According to insiders, today’s terror attack in Sri Lanka is not local. It has roots outside. It may be a calibrated response.

50 dead and more than 280 injured. Since this is Easter, Churches are busy everywhere in the world. It’s unclear if tourists and foreigners are among the victims in Sri Lanka. T

 

 

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