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The Pulse

Volume 3 Issue 3 Leisure Inbound- Employee Newsletter May 2015

Inside this issue

The Other Side

Largest ever MICE movement

Inbound Force

Strengthening the supply chain

Building Dreams

Big Match Fever

Sports

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Voice of Employee Survey

At the recently concluded VOE survey Walkers Tours

and Whittalls Travels achieved a score of 88.05%.

The team spirit and the quality of work life directly

contributed towards this achievement and we are no

doubt proud to be a part of such an amazing team!

Walkers Tours Limited and Whittalls Boustead (Travel) Limited continuously striving to achieve high

levels of quality, successfully passed the periodic audit with zero non conformities. Adopting industry

best practices and providing high quality services to its clients have been of prime importance. It

continues to challenge the status quo and move forward with the support of its dynamic workforce

and strong supply chain.

Leisure Inbound Sector performed well in

all of its sustainability indicators in the

recently concluded financial year 2014/15.

Striving towards integrating sustainability

practices in to every aspect of the business

has been a key driver which has resulted in

the performance displayed above. Many

awareness sessions along with adopting

best practices too have contributed to the

above success.

Walkers Tours & Whittalls Travels Successfully

Passes the ISO Audit

Sustainability Performance on the Move Up!

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Lasanthi

Lasanthi has been in the Whittalls UK Market for a little over one year. Generally very serious when it comes

to work, however joins in on the fun all the time. The market is more or less like family to her and she has

come up with descriptions for every one of her team members which are as follows: The world book, the

stress reliever, the Ladybird who gets bugged, the so called sportsman, the English teacher, the brainiac, the

Athlete, the flirt, the counsellor, complements frequently and Ben 10.

The Other Side Team Whittalls UK

Vinodhini

Vino has been a part of this team for more than eight years and in fact this is her first job. She is sometimes

known to be the loudest lady in Whittalls

falls ill for the slightest sneeze from her colleague next door. Vino loves being independent and is a

perfectionist in what she does. Her belief is that there is nothing impossible in this world if you have the

right commitment and passion towards your goal. She is so proud to be a part of most enthusiastic and

intelligent team.

Prabuddha

Joined on a sports contract 7 years ago but is now a full time employee of Whittalls. role in the

a crazy joke. He loves the fact that all the work is done to the point with

the least amount of mistakes, all while having fun. The best quality of the market is that they are process

driven therefore there is an easy solution to every problem.

Kalpani

Moved to Whittalls from Walkers just over a year ago, Kalpani immediately felt at home at the UK Market.

All her colleagues warmly welcomed her and the transition happened in a blink of an eye. She credits it all to

the closeness of the team and loves working with them.

Shan

Shan has been working in UK market for exactly 1 year, 3 months and 18 days (probably a bit more when this

to disagree a bit. He feels everyone in the market is extremely talented and efficient. The team gets into a

frenzy of jokes and laughter out of nowhere which the whole office hears, which sums up the amount of fun

going on over there.

Jayamali

Five years ago Jayamali joined Whittalls UK and is the central

contact point for the whole team, not forgetting the Destination Management Representatives and Airport

Representatives. She also acts as general counsel to the market which is sometimes tricky and requires extra

attention and focus. The team has a great work ethic and strongly believes in team work, which is admirable.

The team is strongly gelled and continue to smile even during the toughest times

For this issue of the Pulse we decided to feature the Whittalls UK mark

take a look at what makes them tick

Nalika

W , Nalika heads the Whittalls UK market and drives the team with passion and

commitment. She feels the team is extremely fabulous and points out the fact that they are always in

action. She credits the success to the passion that runs through the team and the key driver is that they are

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Renuka

Renuka has been in the Market for seven years. The best quality of the team is the efficiency &

effectiveness in which they operate. She says the colourful personalities within the team make it

extremely interesting to be a part of this fabulous team. Team work is something they all believe in

and it has worked to their advantage so far. She hopes the team will reach greater heights in the near

future.

Sithara

Sithara Whittalls. In fact she was planning on going

overseas for higher education. But things took a turn for the good and she ended up in the WhittallsUK

market and has been a key member of the team for almost 9 years. She enjoys the fun and laughter within

the team and also contribute with a joke or two once in a while. She is really happy with her work and hopes

to keep contributing as much as she can.

Sithum

Sithum is a new face to the Whittalls UK Team. Words that describe him best are "Silent but Deadly",

straight out of a James Bond movie.

The best part of the team is that they are very helpful and cheerful. He says they were so welcoming in his

first few days and now quite a few friendships have blossomed. Working for the Whittalls UK Team has

been an amazing experience, and will continue to be one for Sithum. He believes that the Team is one that

will prosper because of the friendships formed and the hardworking personalities in the team.

Kalum

A veteran in the market as some would say, Kalum has been there for almost 10 years. His role in the market

Kalum loves when a

passed

around. When all is said and done, he feels this is a good team to work for. He strives to avoid mistakes and

more importantly getting on the non-conformities list.

Mevantha

Meventha has been with the Whittalls UK team for just about 3 years. Started out as the baby of the

team but with the flow of new blood into the market, this is no more the case. A mixed bag sometimes

rganized

he feels they are a force to be reckon with and proud of who and what they represent, their company

Whittalls and John Keells the greater organization.

Prashani

Prashani is very satisfied with her contribution towards the organization during the past eight years. The

Market has been fun to work with and she enjoys working with the team day in day out. She believes that

the results directly reflect all the hard work and commitment the team puts in and is proud of everything

they have achieved. Prashani is looking to continue this and extend her support to the organization in the

future.

Chathura

Eight months in Whittalls UK, Chathura has learnt about life, work & of course fun. He is Infamous for bugging

team members in order to know something while they are busy with their work. The UK team at Whittalls is

the most balanced team when it comes to work & fun according to Chathura. The friendly environment

helped him to sync in fast and grow to the best of his abilities faster and he feels the team is very well

organized in order to maximize efficiency. In his opinion he thinks KUONI UK market is the best market to

work throughout the whole leisure sector!

Peumi

Peumi has been with the Whittalls UK market for 5 years. She handles weddings and feels the team has

been very supportive.

part of it due to the warm and friendly nature of every single team member.

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Largest ever MICE Movement

Walkers Tours handled the largest ever MICE group which consisted of over 1600 Phillips employees who travelled

from all parts of India to attend a series of conferences which was held in Colombo from 16 to 19 January. The Philips

Group of India was represented predominantly by the Lighting, Consumer Lifestyle, Healthcare and Corporate sectors.

The group occupied more than 800 rooms for several days at leading hotels in Colombo. Simultaneous meetings,

conferences and events were held each day. Enthuse Answers, the event management agency from India which

managed this group with Walkers Tours, was extremely satisfied with the way attention was given to each detail during

the entire movement. The entire logistics plan was handled with such ease that each one of 1600 guests went back

with happy memories of Colombo. The conference was held at the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre over a

period of three days while the catering was provided by the Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo. This was one of the largest

catering services provided at the SLECC and showcased the ability to handle catering

cricketers Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan, special guests for this event appeared for one-on-one interviews and

Question & Answer sessions conducted on the final day of the conference.

Employees from different divisions came in to support this movement for the event to be a success. Following are few

experiences shared:

Andre

charge of handling the SLECC operation at which the conferences and entertainment events of the group were held. A great

deal of planning had to be done for each element of the Philips groups program and every nitty-gritty had to be carefully looked into. The

experience of handling such a large group was certainly priceless and satisfying 1500 Indians was no easy task at all, but our team at

Rashmika

spirit

Sachintha Indians are known to be difficult. Dealing with tired and disgruntled Indians who discover that their names are not appearing in the

Those 5 days were hectic and crazy! But as always Walkers pulled it off and we did it with panache. The best part was getting to know the Walkers Indian team who I previously did not know very well and they turned out to be a bunch of fun and amazing people. The

backs, always!

Saptharangi Philips Group India. Enjoyed every bit of

Riyaz As I was handling the entire transportation and logistics for the

micros with 1500 Indians. Clients arrived and departed in 55 different flights and stayed in 6 different hotels, yet I managed to allocate

vehicles on time for their transfers. Even though I had sleepless nights during those days, I can proudly say that we did a successful event

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Celebrating

Indian Movement - Experiences

ndation has been a scheduled

event at Walkers Tours for the past two years. This year too we visited the Home for battered and abused women

managed by Emerge Lanka Foundation which supports Sri Lankan girls who have been removed from their homes due

to abuse or threat of abuse. Every girl was gifted with a Fancy pack which included items which were donated by ladies

of Walkers and Whittalls. We also spoke to them of the importance of savings as they are engaged in funding

themselves by making and selling jewelry.

All 89 ladies of Walkers & Whittalls were gifted with a token of appreciation (an inspirational Movie which speaks about

the ability to create Change The Help). We also put together a video in appreciation of our ladies and to celebrate

them!

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Having obtained the ISO certifications for both 9001 and 14001 Walkers Tours is on a journey towards continuously striving to achieve higher standards of quality. A specialized team is in place to ensure all our Ancillary Suppliers meet the minimum requirement in terms of quality and safety which is imperative in the industry we operate. Thilangani, one of the new faces at Inbound, is an integral part of this team and is continuously looking at strengthening the quality aspect of the supply chain. Coming from an Air Force background to the Tourism sector is quite a leap. She has been at the helm for four months and has already covered a few Ancillary supplier inspections. The editorial team of the Pulse caught up with her and inquired about her experience conducting these inspections and been a part of the tourism industry; this is what she had to say.

and Kalpitiya. The Inspection team consisted of Sachintha, Yudesh, Keerthi and I. In Trincomalee we inspected the Nature Trails boats and at Habarana & Wilpattu we inspected Jeeps. During the inspection we made sure all the relevant documentation was in order and all the ISO quality standards were met. We left Wilpattu and began our journey to Kalpitiya, but not before securing a new supplier. In Kalpitiya we managed to inspect three suppliers out of which two were newly secured. It was really a fantastic first inspection and an amazing experience to be a part of. It was a three day inspection and even though it was quite a bit of work, I was excited by the exposure I received. One of the most important elements of inspections is that we need to advice the suppliers on how to deal with our clients, because they would interact with the client directly and it has an impact on the overall experience of the client. The tourism industry on the whole is a very astonishing. It is unlike anything else I have encountered during my career at the air force. R

woman, but I took the cho

deserve it and communicate in the

Inbound Force

Strengthening the Supply Chain

From left to right Amali (Finance), Nevanka (E-Commerce), Anjali (France), Aindra (Kuoni

France), Viranga (Thomas Cook), Shaminda (Kuoni France), Suky (China), Mahasen (China),

Kevin (Middle East)

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Chantelle

Sachintha

That fact that we were actually helped build a house which will become a home to a family was such a great feeling.

Building Dreams

The John Keells foundation was represented by 20 volunteers at the Habitat Youth Build which took place in Trincomalee

on 21st of March. Habitat Youth Build uses volunteer assistance in building houses which is a basic right for several families

across the Island. As part of one of their projects to achieve this, the Habitat Youth Build 2015 took the initiative of building

some houses already part of an Indian Government funded project in Trincomalee,

The highest contingent of volunteers was from Walkers Tours and Whittalls Travels and the experience they gained has

been priceless. Following are the experiences shared by our volunteers:

Amrick

It was a truly unique experience. It was great working hand in hand with people who really enjoyed having us there and welcomed us,

strangers, into their home as if we were known to them. I was surprised and proud of all the support that Habitat for youth had and look

forward to many more of their projects.

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Abdul

It was indeed a great experience. Building those houses in the scorching sun was a tiring task, but the smile on those faces for

whom we built hose houses was satisfying. The experience got even better when a cup of tea was served by the house owners to all

of us and it was shared with the helpers as well. Truly a challenging but fun experience

Stephani

Big Match Fever at Inbound!

Walkers and Whittalls had a day of celebration in the month of March which brought to life the school spirit under the theme

.

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Netball Queens 4 years in a row!!!

Team Walkers retained their Netball championship yet again, this time defeating JMSL in the final. Our ladies were unbeaten

throughout the whole tournament, displaying their dominance over the other teams. Gayanga Botejue was awarded the best

shooter award for the fourth consecutive year while Sachintha Fernando was awarded the best all-round player of the

tournament.

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Travel Trade Football

Travel Trade Bowling Team Walkers & Whittalls was placed 5th among 60 teams at the recently concluded Travel Trade Bowling Championship.

tournament. They met eventual

champions Sri Lankan Airlines in the group stage and held them out to a draw - the only team to do so.

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