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Dubai hotel to host Sri Lankan food fest

Dubai, April 5, 2010

Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion’s Middle East Bureau is hosting a food festival in conjunction with the Renaissance Hotel Dubai from April 7 to 21, to raise awareness about the island nation and its cuisine.

Sri Lankans, who are following the lunar calendar, are celebrating the New Year in April. The Sri Lankan Chefs of Spice Island will feature delicious Hoppers and String Hoppers, Fish Ambulthiyal, Devilled Potato, Seeni Sambol and Kuttu Roti. There will also be Watatalapam, Rulang Dhosi.

The promotion also features the desserts of Chef Achala Weerasinghe, a native of Sri Lanka’. He will be presenting his personal favorites such as Watatalapam, Rulang Dhosi, Sweet pumpkin pudding, milk toffee and other desserts.

“Our award winning Sri Lankan culinary team led by our Sous Chef Chandana Kathriarachchi including Pastry Chef Weerasinghe who is fresh from winning the Best Pastry Chef of the Year at the Salon Culinaire for two straight years will be preparing an exciting line-up of rich and spicy food Sri Lankan cuisine such as the distinctive curry, an authentic and memorable Sri Lankan experience,” stated executive chef Amgaz Zaki.

Destination Sri Lanka reported a major influx of Arab travellers as Middle East Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka surged 50 per cent in January 2010 compared to the same period last year, according to statistics compiled by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority and announced by the Middle East office of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Board (SLTPB).

“We are confident of the early results, and are on track to surpass figures attained last year where tourist arrivals saw a double-digit growth,” said Heba Al Ghais Al Mansoori, Middle East director of SLTPB based in Dubai.

Announcing the results, Al Mansoori confirmed that the strongest growth was registered from the UAE (up by 164 per cent), Saudi Arabia (up by 127 per cent), Qatar (171 per cent), Kuwait (up by 135 per cent) and Jordan among others. Apart from the Middle East, regions that saw a marked increase in visitors are Western and Eastern Europe, and South Asia.

The Middle East has outperformed all other regions of the world, by becoming the fastest growing source market for Sri Lanka, she stated.

“Sri Lanka offers cultural attractions, entertainment, shopping and dining, and is less than four hours flying time away from the Gulf.”

Those having a meal during the food festival also get an opportunity to win two tickets to Colombo.-TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Dubai | travel | Food festival | Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau |

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