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MONTHLY NEWS BULLETIN - JULY 2018

journeys july2018

 

Dear Trade Colleagues,

I hope the weather has been treating you well!

It gives me great pleasure to be back with you on a new episode of ‘Journeys’ this month and share some exciting news with you all.

For an ‘Experiential Journey’, let’s take a virtual walk through a beautiful boutique villa with its unique and mysterious charm which is owned and managed by a lovely and hospitable couple. With its rich history of being built during the old colonial days of Kandy, this venue is assured to give our clients a memorable stay.

This times ‘Real Local Experience’ is designed to give our guests an exciting and educational journey through the beautiful art of weaving lace in the village of Dickwella.

Learn all about the ‘Event’ of annual foot pilgrimage by devotees of Lord Kataragama whilst getting the opportunity to meet our Host of the Month, Dr. Priyan Perera; a pangolin expert hailing from Sri Lanka.

With our expanding effort to be a sustainable business, we have set our Urban Wetland Conservation Project in motion and we’re cordially inviting our guests to be part of this noble cause when traveling with us.

In ‘News from the Group’ it’s all about our Eco Team’s Premier Cricket Tournament, because the fun doesn’t stop with the tours when working with us!

While all this excitement has been taking place at Exj, our team has also been taking the necessary actions to be compliant to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation Act with respect to our clients.

I hope you have enjoyed our latest news as much as we have.

Keep on exploring!

Anuruddha Bandara (AB)
Founder
Experiential Journeys



 

Our policy in discouraging Animal Cruelty, Tourist Traps and Staged Tourist Shows

Animals Are Friends Too: Discouraging Animal Cruelty, Tourist Traps and Staged Tourist Shows

We at ExJ stay away from tourism experiences that are staged and involve animal cruelty and shopping traps that are contrived to exploit and deceive clients.

Even though some of the popular ‘attractions’ are not included in our programmes due to the above reasons, we have no objections in our clients making their own arrangements with our Drivers to visit these places.

 

Why we do not promote following attractions

 

Turtle Hatcheries

As this concept has serious negative aspects in terms of conservation, we do not encourage our visitors to patronize the turtle hatcheries, as not all of them are really turtle-friendly. We instead encourage them to observe turtles in their natural habitats.

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage

When we became aware that the animal welfare standards there were questionable, we stopped encouraging our clients to visit the orphanage. We are pleased to observe that the Born Free Foundation has now adopted similar measures.

Elephant back rides – Habarana

There’s uncertainty surrounding the attitude of this place towards animal welfare. There may be a few ethical operators, but in general, we are not in agreement with how the place is run. We all would love a photo of us riding an elephant, but is a lifetime of pain caused to these magnificent mammals really worth a few fleeting likes on social media?

Traditional Village Tour with a Canoe Trip and Bullock-Carts – Habarana

This is a tourist trap where a lot of the trip is ‘staged’ for commercial purposes. Such fake touristic experiences will not give our visitors an idea of what life in the country is really like, so join us as we show you the real side of Sri Lanka. And at the end of every vacation, always ask yourself, “Did you feel that your holiday was ethical, eco-friendly, and reduced environmental impacts?”


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