Once again the exotic and magnificent Maldives island’s will host one of the worlds best and most anticipated surf events – the ASP 5 Star Prime rated Maldives presents SriLankan Airlines Pro, running from June 3 through to June 9.

Renowned world wide and attracting the very best surfers from right across the globe, The Sri Lankan Airlines Pro delivers the true essence of the sport to the world with perfect surf, amazing weather and possibly the warmest surfing waters in the world – All this on a paradise island setting where the problems of the world disappear and the sport of surfing takes over!

Elite World Qualifying Series competitor Hira Terinatoofa (Tahiti) commented on the SriLankan Airlines Pro saying “Simply awesome! It’s my favorite event on the world tour. Everybody has fun enjoying fantastic surf and it’s just a wonderful experience. It’s just like my home in Tahiti – surf, sun and fun. A great event for surfing!”

The Maldives Islands is open to the entire Indian Ocean swell window and while great surf is consistent throughout the year, the monsoonal June winds have regularly delivered powerful and excellent surf to this event. Last year’s event saw Pasta Point on the Dhonveli Beach & Spa Resort Island add even more quality to the options of excellent surf available and Pasta Point will again be the events base with options to surf other quality surf breaks like Lohifushi, Cokes and Jails!

Just how important this event is to these surfers was highlighted last year when Australia’s Luke Munro won the event and then went on to qualify for the ASP Fosters World Tour. There’s a high degree of prestige attached to winning this event because the waves are so good. It’s the perfect testing ground to highlight surfings best and you’ll only win here if you’re truly a champion of the sport.

This years event sees multiple partners joining forces to ensure the best possible promotion which will include a fully serviced (vision, audio and live scores) live webcast along with an international television production crew who will produce a feature show for the world along with daily news feeds to the world and web highlight packages.

ASP Australasia Tour Manager Glenn Best commented on the event saying “The 2007 SriLankan Airlines Pro event is going to be a fantastic event thanks to the support of our key sponsors in SriLankan Airlines, Maldives Tourism & Promotions Board and John Keels Resorts who have all solidified their commitment in 2007. The Maldives is without question one of the most superb surfing event locations, and each year it continually gives up some of the best WQS waves on the globe, we are so fortunate to be holding the event in such a fantastic surfing location – With the event’s 5 Star Prime Rating bringing the best ASP ranked surfers into the Maldives it creates an explosive surfing event, and it’s all set in an idyllic tropical location. The 2007 SriLankan Airlines Pro event will have daily live vision web cast from the event site at ‘Pasta Point’ on the luxurious Dhonveli Beach & Spa Resort, – put simply, very few other WQS events offer such outstanding surf conditions and all set in 5 Star surroundings”

Just some of the quality surfers already on the entry list include Roy Powers (Hawaii), Leonardo Neves (Brazil), Kai Otton (Australia), David Weare (South Africa), Tim Boal (France), Enecko Acero (Spain), Tiago Pires (Portugal), Abdul El Harem (Morocco), Teppi Tajima (Japan), Brian Toth (Puerto Rico), Alex Grey (USA) and many more for what is possibly the worlds biggest elite representation at an ASP Professional event.

The SriLankan Airlines Pro, sitting right in the middle of the grueling ASP World Qualifying Series Season and almost right in the middle of surfing’s global community which will ensure a super quality event in an amazing location.

The countdown to early June is now on as everyone eagerly plans their pathway on SriLankan Airlines to the magnificent Maldives.

The 2007 Maldives presents the SriLankan Airlines Pro event is proudly supported by SriLankan Airlines, Maldives Tourism & Promotions Board, John Keels Resorts and Atoll Travel.

Watch all the event action live from the beautiful Maldives from 3 – 9 June on www.surfingaustralia.com

Steve Robertson
ASP Australasia, Surfing Australia Media Manager
ASP Int. Digital Photographer

The award winning resort, the Hilton Maldives Resort and Spa, is to be re-branded as a Conrad, the Hilton group’s luxury hotel brand. The resort will be renamed the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, effective December 2007.

Koos Klein, president of Hilton Hotels – Middle East and Asia Pacific, commented, “This decision reaffirms the premium positioning of the Hilton Maldives Resort and Spa, which has been internationally renowned for its combination of innovative world firsts such as Ithaa, its underwater restaurant, and the resort’s consistently high luxury standards.”

Following re-branding, the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island will offer an increased range of amenities, while still providing the high-quality service for which it is recognized. There will be no disruption to guests during the re-branding process.

Richard Blamey, senior vice president – Conrad Hotels Brand Management, said, “Conrad’s brand promise, ‘The Luxury of Being Yourself’, celebrates the individuality of its guests and the exclusive experience provided by each of our hotels. With its investment throughout time in luxury-oriented services and product, the Hilton Maldives Resort and Spa is an ideal match and will be an outstanding addition to the growing Conrad portfolio. We look forward to building on the exceptional success of this world-class resort.”

Hilton also recently signed an agreement to introduce a luxury Conrad Resort and Spa in Koh Samui, Thailand, in 2009.

Yacht Tours Maldives Pvt Ltd is to develop Kuda Rah island in South Ari atoll into a five-star resort.

The company’s chairman Mr. Abdulla Jabir says that Yacht Tours has been able to secure an Rf100 million (about US$7.7 million) loan from Pakistan’s Habib Bank branch in Maldives. The loan has to be repaid over a period of five years.

Yacht Tours plans to expand the resort’s bed capacity from 60 to 100 when it becomes operational in December, according to Jabir. The island is located in one of the most established tourism zones in the Maldives archipelago.

Yacht Tours was established in 1995 and is focused on the development and exploration of tourism-related business.

“Yacht Tours Maldives aims to take the Maldivian tourism product into a further dimension, adding excitement and new directions to create greater demand and customer satisfaction through innovative concepts with local expertise and creative services,” the company says on its website.

Maldives Tourism Development cooperation (MTDC) announces that HotelPlan and Thomas Cook will start their charter flights to Gan island in Addu atoll in December this year.

During the press meeting held on 19 March 2007 , HotelPlan said that charter flights will travel on the route to Milan/Male’/Gan on Blue Panaroma airlines. Thomas Cook also announced that in November fights will start from Frankfurt to Gan by Condor airlines.

The two tour operators said that resorts for middle income tourists are important for the Maldives tourism industry and that the government should open more resorts in southern region for middle class travellers so they can fly direct from Europe to Gan, without making a stop in Male’ or any other transit points.

Operators expressed their special interest to this region as it will be a “unique” Maldives experience; tourists will be able to get first hand experience of the local culture, second most populous atoll.

Tropical Paradise Pvt. Ltd, a leading travel publishing firm based in Maldives has launched its official website; www.maldives-traveller.com the privately owned publishing firm that helps in promoting the tourism industry of Maldives around the globe five years ago launched the publication “Maldives Travel Guide” which became an instant hit in the international travelers market.

Though the publication began in Japanese, aimed at the lucrative Japanese tourist market, the firm has now expanded the Maldives Travel Guide into English, Russian, German, French and Italian.

Like its travel guide, Tropical Paradise’s website is also one of the most comprehensive guides on Maldives tourism.

The firm said on its website that one of its visions was to “continue its growth by increasing the number of publications in different languages which are most suited to promote the tourism of Maldives.”

The firm’s Maldives Travel Guide is a customer oriented publication and one of the most comprehensive, informative, user-friendly and entertaining guides on Maldives.

Tropical Paradise also explores new markets with an in-depth understanding of cultural diversity of each nation to develop the Guides in-accordance with the tastes of different market segments, the firm said on its website.