Jetwing Hotels' move towards eco-tourism
by Nilma Dole
 Jetwing
opened its latest boutique hotel, Heritage Villa (Galle Fort) with a
book launch of their best properties titled 'Paradise Exorcised' by
Juliet Coombe at the HSBC Galle Literary Festival 2012.Speaking at the
book launch Chairman of Jetwing hotels Hiran Cooray said, "Sri Lanka's
nature community-based tourism is growing from strength to strength and
it has been the commitment of our staff, management and clients who have
helped us to achieve success."
The book is Jetwing's first eco-guide to their hotels, environmental
practices and what clients can do to support in their
environment-friendly ventures.
In a bid to redefine eco-tourism, Jetwing has comprehensive details
on environmental practices and their key CSR project, JEEP (Jetwing
Eternal Earth project) which will be relaunched in Kalpitiya soon.
UK Chartered Engineer, David Altabev who is an expert in sustainable
design left his life in London to help write and photograph the book. He
said, "I was impressed with the engineering standards of Jetwing hotels.
I have seen and worked with many experts who talk about doing the right
thing and coming up with solutions but very few actually implement it."
He said that he was skeptical about the standards and
environment-friendly practices in Sri Lanka but was pleasantly surprised
when he went on a tour at Jetwing Beach Negombo.He said, "I think this
is an apt time to release such a book because Sri Lanka is on the verge
of making the most of the tourism business. This year Sri Lanka is
expecting 850,000 visitors up by 30 percent from the 600, 000 visitors
from last year." He said that the number will grow to two and a half
million in a few years. "We can only imagine what level of
infrastructure Sri Lanka needs to develop to cater to that level of
tourists in the forthcoming years." He said that gives a great
opportunity to develop a green tourism sector and to start determining
what makes the country special," he said.
He said that tourism practices need to be sustainable so that Sri
Lanka will not lose its heritage which is vital aspect of its tourism
success. "Sustainable development for tourism is the only choice we have
as environment safety standards are becoming important," he said.
Jetwing is more than just a charity but it believes and values the
environment in supporting tourism. He said, "Jetwing goes beyond the
traditional boundaries of the concept of tourism, more than just
eco-tourism benefits".
He said that hoteliers and their clients should go hand-in-hand to
support, sustain and develop the tourism industry with eco-friendly
practices.
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