The Human Resources team of Walkers Tours in partnership with AEISEC Sri Lanka

welcomed 13 interns from different parts of the world to Explore Sri Lanka. Interns

from China, Germany, Brazil, Pakistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Bahrain, Taiwan and

Vietnam were hosted by Walkers Tours for a knowledge sharing session.

Promoting Sri Lanka - Building

Partnerships

The Pulse

Volume 2 Issue 2 Leisure Inbound- Employee Newsletter February 2014

Inside this issue

Development of Eco Tourism

The Other Side

The Market Say

New Faces at Inbound

Winners of Puzzle 3

Guess Who

2

3

4

5

6

7

This session was graced by the senior management of Walkers Tours in order to impart their knowledge about the history

and future tourism of Sri Lanka. Towards the end of the discussion few interns expressed their interest in partnering with

Walkers Tours as brand ambassadors for Sri Lanka.

The objective of their visit is to explore the mystical paths of the country and to capture the beauty and grace of our mother

nation via blogs, pictures and videos. The following social media tools are used by these interns to show case their work of

art which promotes and creates awareness of Sri Lanka globally.

Face book: https://www.facebook.com/exploresrilankacn

Google plus: https://plus.google.com/104566404729932997841

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/exploresl/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/explore_sl

vk.com: http://vk.com/public66687888

Welcoming the New Year 2014

Walkers Tours was the proud

sponsor of transport for one of

their trips and also gave the

interns the opportunity to visit

one of our very own sites,

Tamarind Gardens and to

experience how to Live like a

Local.

Whittalls Travels in Partnership with KUONI and IUCN

Initiates development of eco-tourism

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), in partnership with Kuoni, organized a training workshop for the conservation community in Sri Lanka, to build business skills and share experiences for successful ecotourism

development. IUCN is an international organization dedicated to finding "pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges". Many local Conservation Organizations attended this workshop which provided the participants with a strong foundation in business skills that will enable them to design and run successful

ecotourism businesses. Whittall Boustead (Travel) Limited provided facilitators who presented key elements for success and highlighted

practical steps for implementation. The Training was broken down into different themes, and the sessions were conducted by the following professionals;

Market context Upali Ratnayake- Director SLTDA, Hiran Cooray Chairman Jetwing Group

Ecotourism potential Srilal Miththapala Director Ceylon Chamber of Commerce

Business and financial planning Susith Jayawickrama Deputy MD, Aitken Spense/ Jayantissa Kehelpannala EVP

JKH

Sustainable Operations Chitral Jayatilake Head of Nature Trails, AVP JKH

Health and Safety Shirley Fisher Customer experience and Health and Safety Manager, Kuoni UK

Human Resources Sunil Dissanayake Head of HR Hayleys Group / Director GM, Kingsbury Hotel

Marketing and Sales and Customer care Srilal Miththapala - Director Ceylon Chamber of Commerce

With the conclusion of the workshop, the participants were asked to send in presentations of their Proposals and

Business Plans. Discussions were held with shortlisted participants where feedback on their presentations was shared. Assisting these organizations and integrating them into our business in the near future is the ultimate goal of this programme.

Shivanthi credits her success to her

routine of practicing two hours each,

before and after work every single

day. She says If you think you can

achieve something, you need to put

your foot down and work hard. She

also believes If you want something

badly, you have to focus and do the

Right thing.

Married to her childhood sweetheart a

love story which started back in their

school days, Shivanthi and Saman are

proud parents of Nipun. As she

proudly says her Pride and Joy

Nipun, is following her footsteps and

is a member of the Royal College

Squash Team. Now done and dusted

with all sports, shivanthi loves

spending quiet time with her beloved

family during the weekends.

Message to our readers Try to be

honest and you will face fewer

problems. Life is short, try to be

friendly after all.

Mostly known as the fierce competitor in all racket sports

Shivanthi is no stranger. The editorial

team met up with her to dig deep into

the secrets to her success story.

Shivanthi, an old girl of Anula

Vidiyalaya, Nugegoda, was an

outstanding personality in school who

excelled in both studies and sports.

Since a very young age she showed

great enthusiasm towards sports. She

has received national colors for Tennis

and was the Games Captain of her

School. She also played Netball but

Badminton was her forte. She was the

all island inter-school champion in

Badminton in all age categories from

under 11 under 18.

After having completed her Advanced

Level Examinations in the bio stream,

she joined the army, for Badminton.

The turnaround in her life came five

months later, when she decided to

switch to squash. While playing in an

open squash tournament she crushed

Sri Lankas number 5 ranked Squash

player. This is when she realized she

had the talent in her to be champion

one day. She was immediately fast

tracked into the National Pool and

soon after that the National Squad. In

1990 she represented Sri Lanka in the

6st Asian squash championship in

India and went on to participate in

many other International tournaments.

Shivanthi having quit the army in

1993 joined Walkers Tours. She was

offered employment in both Walkers

Tours and Aitkin Spence but decided

on the former because she fell in love

with the beautiful Glennie Street

Building. After joining Walkers tours,

she was sponsored by John Keells

Holdings and she continued to excel in

sports.

Shivanthi accomplished her lifelong

dream in 1994, when she became Sri

Lankas National Squash Champion.

However, this accomplishment didnt

satisfy the hunger inside her, but

instead made it grow and she retained

her place at the top of the ladder the

next year as well. Shivanthis passion

for squash continued over the next few

years and her leadership qualities were

brought to life when she was named

captain of the National Squash team in

1995. Shivanthi continued to excel in

sports and became the Womens

Veterans Doubles runner up at the 59th

National Badminton Championships

in 2011. Shivanthi has been a National

Squash Selector for the past five years.

and is also a coach for level 1 & level

2 Asian Squash Federation. She was

an Executive committee member and

also the vice president of the Sri

Lanka Squash Federation.

The Other Side

Mn

Nanduni Rajapaksha

Fondly known as: Nandu

Mostly heard saying : Dont be mean

men or most often heard sneezing

Cartoon character that describes her :

Bubblles Powerpuff girls

Song title that describes her : Ms.

Independent

Greatest Quality: Very Patient

Message from the market: Youre such a bog! But we love you!

The Market Say

Praveen Goonesekera

Fondly known as: Praveeeen/ Accident Ward

Mostly heard saying : Mama Amaru Wade Keruwa onna umba lesi wade karapan / Malli

arrival eke check karamuda

Cartoon character that describes him : Obilix (His massive Bulge)

Song title that describes him : Dennam ko Lokka

Greatest Quality: 24/7 emergency service, he is there when the company needs him

Message from the market: Athuwath bari, nathuwath bari

Vasula Wimalaweera

Fondly known as: Vasu

Mostly heard saying : Thats

Gooood

Cartoon character that describes him

: Daffy Duck

Song title that describes him : Man

Down

Greatest Quality: AGood kind

hearted friend

Message from the market: We Love

you!

For this issue of The Pulse we spoke to members of the Web Sales, Russia and Far East teams of Walkers Tours and the Whittalls team to

inquire about Nanduni, Vasula, Chantelle and Praveen. This is what their teammates had to say:

Chantelle Ferdinands

Fondly known as: Chanty, The

Chuuty

Mostly heard saying : Can I have

your tour plan

Cartoon character that describes her

: Velma (Scooby Doo) Always has

the correct answer

Song title that describes her :

Dont you worry child

Greatest Quality: Helpful anda

great team player

Message from the market: All the

best and success

Saminda Balasuriya

I have enjoyed the month that I have spent at whittalls and Im sure it will

only get better.

Jonathan Taylor

Its a great pleasure to work with Walkers Tours; its more than a working

place.

New faces of Inbound

Rangani Vithanage

"A place like home and the best place to be employed on earth"

Ryan Perera

Friendly Faces, Good Exposure, All in all a Great place to work at

Sheneli Jayasuriya

Its an honor to be among the leaders of the Leisure Industry and

also privileged to work in such a positive working environment.

Gavin Loose

A great working environment.

m i l a n i T y r o n e

e m

v c h e n u r a

a s

n h h e n r y h

t a a a

h s a n d r e

a h e s h a n i

i s h a n

M a n o r i e

i i e a D

c h r a n d i k a

a a l m

e d i n i k a i a

l s h e n a l

a n u s h k a i i

Answers to Inbound Puzzle No. 4

Abdul Qadir

Work deeper with passion and not hard with agony.

Ranuka Kariyawasam

I hope starting to work here would lay a good foundation to my career

ahead.

Across

1. Speaks five languages

2. Captain of Soccer/Athletics & Vice Captain

of Swimming team in school

3. Obtained fur As for A/Ls

4. Liu

5. Melfort Estate

6. Biker

7. -------------

8. 12th October

9. Ambalangoda

10. Thamasari

11. Parent of Shaveen

12. Peterite

13. Wing Three-Quarter

Down

1. Shakespeare

2. Married to Janaka

3. ACMA

4. --------

5. Artist

6. -------

7. Choro Benedicte

8. Fan of country Music

9. Was a teacher

10. 14 3315

11. Rugby Fanatic

Winners of the Crossword Puzzle No. 04

1. Arinda / Tarusha

2. Jayamali

3. Poornima / Nanduni

4. Andre / Ahamed / Asitha / Gayanga

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Match the face with the clues mentioned. First five correct entries would be adjudged the winners. Hand over

the completed form to HR before the 7th of March 2014.

Are you a trendsetter us?

http://www.facebook.com/CareersatWalkersWhittalls

Guess Who Puzzle No. 01

1). University of Western Sydney

2). Creative Artist

4). Defense of the ages

5). Pianist

7). Oman

9). Kamanee

8). 12th of March

10). Sri Lanka Schools Basketball team 2007

3). Jennifer Lawrence

6). Play Station