Iconic city tour adds zest to Christmas Fest

A Christmas edition of the iconic Colombo City Tour service operated by Ebert Silva Holidays was launched yesterday at Galle Face Hotel in Colombo.

The special service, which coincides with the annual Christmas Fest organised by Sri Lanka Tourism, will pick up tourists on a daily basis from all leading city hotels and take them to seasonal city attractions such as the Christmas Fest at the Independence Arcade, which began yesterday and ends tomorrow, and Christmas Street at Green Path which runs from today until 23 December. This service is offered on a complimentary basis for tourists.

Interestingly those on board the open top double-decker buses will be treated to a live performance of Christmas carols by various choirs during the journey.

The official launch of this special service was held under the patronage of Minister of Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs, John Amaratunga, Ebert Silva Holidays Chairperson Rajini De Silva Mendis and Galle Face Hotel General Manager Deni Ohlsen-Dukic.

Minister Amaratunga, speaking at the launch, noted that Sri Lanka was keen on developing event-based tourism and Christmas and Vesak have been identified as key calendar events. 

“In the last few years we have transformed Colombo into a festive hub during the Christmas season. This year we have gone a step further in association with the private sector which is the driving force behind this initiative. I hope tourists will take note of what we are doing and spread the word, especially on social media,” said Minister Amaratunga.

Speaking at the launch, Chairperson Mendis said that Ebert Silva Holidays was very happy to be a part of the city celebrations and that the City Tour buses would link the festive events with the hotels. 

“We are offering a complimentary shuttle service for foreign guests as well as for Sri Lankans to get to these locations in an enjoyable manner, celebrate and then get back to their hotels using the same service.”

“I commend the Ministry of Tourism and Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau for initiating this so that foreign visitors will not be missing Christmas at home,” she added,

Galle Face Hotel General Manager Deni Ohlsen-Dukic said that Galle Face Hotel was honored to partner Sri Lanka Tourism and Colombo City Tour in this venture. 

“Through these festive events we are promoting Sri Lanka, especially the city, in a very effective and memorable manner,” he noted.

Also present at the occasion was Alston Koch, the award-winning Sri Lankan-born Australian artiste who has been specially flown down to Colombo by Sri Lanka Tourism for the launch of Christmas Fest, Christmas Street and other seasonal events. Speaking during the event, he reminisced about his childhood in Sri Lanka. “Back in the day, we grew up seeing the double-decker buses on our roads and it is great to see Sri Lanka Tourism leading the way in bringing back some of these iconic features of the city. When I saw these red buses it brought a tear to my eye because I used to travel in them to school.”

Expressing his views on Sri Lanka, he said: “Thanks to the Tourism Ministry and SLTPB coming up with these novel ideas Colombo is becoming the place to be at Christmas time. With the city being lit up and lots of festive cheer, it is a fantastic experience to be here.”

Tourist Connie Sommers from Germany, who was present at the launch, recalled that she first visited Colombo back in 1991. “Today, Colombo is a very clean and well-maintained city. The old buildings are maintained well and the people are very nice. This is a really interesting experience which I’m looking forward to,” she said.