Dear Friends,

February and March have been rather hectic for me. One of the items in my personal to-do list was the Rio Carnevale, and I had the opportunity to fulfill this, yipee!!! Jetwing Holidays, our Outbound Packaged Holidays unit introduced this and we were lucky to be a part of it. Sao Paulo, Rio, Iguacu were all fascinating. Walking along the storied Copacabana and the Ipanema beaches, drinking cocktails or just relaxing by the pool was an experience. But what took my breath away was the majestic Iguacu falls. It is truly amazing. Bordering both Brazil and Argentina it stretches for almost 3 kilometers. Going upto the Devil’s Throat made me feel like I was on a Disney ride; the thrill, the excitement is all there! Ajith and I were privileged to take 2 early morning walks before the tourists charged in and it was truly a highlight of all my travels. We also took a helicopter ride to top it all off with an aerial view! The Carnevale of course lived upto its expectations! What a spectacle, the entire stadium was packed despite Zika and the atmosphere was fantastic. Jetwing Holidays has a website (www.jetwingholidays.com) for more details and other such fabulous trips we offer.

We also participated at the ITB in March, which is the world’s largest Tourism Fair held in Berlin and was privileged to meet many of our partners. It was heartening to note that Sri Lanka is riding on a huge wave. The Europeans are very positive and we see it in the numbers that Sri Lanka was privileged to have in the first 3 months of 2016! A sincere thank you to each and every visitor to Sri Lanka, you have given us a lot of confidence to improve our offerings so that we can welcome more of you in the months and years to come.

Jetwing Hotels has just unveiled two of their “gems” in January; Jetwing Jaffna and Jetwing Kaduruketha (in Wellawaya). I had the opportunity of staying a night at the Jetwing Kaduruketha; it is a unique property, keeping with Jetwing’s promise of pioneering journeys. This Agro Resort of 57 acres is so different yet so Jetwing! It has 25 dwellings, no air-conditioning (mind you, I felt so cold at night even without a fan and the temperature went down to 22 c) and 50 acres of paddy with genuine farmers tilling the land. The Poonagala mountain range rises majestically on one side and you see the paddy fields all around you. The resident peacocks and the numerous birds will wake you up in the morning with their symphony and the Chef will cook you meals from the vegetables grown at the Hotel or bought from the farmers in the village. Your dedicated butler will take you for a walk and proudly show you his home, the school he went to, the “kade” from where they by their essentials, the river they go to for their baths etc… Believe me, most of the Associates who are from the area and who have participated in Jetwing’s Youth Development Programme are really doing Jetwing and Sri Lanka proud by showcasing their village to the world! There are many other experiences and excursions available based from the resort; again, please visit the website for more details (www.jetwinghotels.com).

We will officially open Jetwing Jaffna and also Sunrise by Jetwing in Passekudha in April. I am excited to visit them both. April is when Ajith embarks on his charity bike ride “Around the Pearl” and I am looking forward to seeing the pearl again then!

Hope all of you have also had exciting and busy times and look forward to serving you soon.

With Warm Wishes,

Jaffna’s recent past is known the world over but its ancient history is rooted deeply in the lives of its people. The heartland of Tamil culture, Jaffna is a wealth of insight to the arts, religion cuisine and warm hospitality of its people.The first luxury hotel project in the area, Jetwing Jaffna stands proud – a testament to the splendour of the North.

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