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| Sunday, 19 January 2003 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Travel &
Tourism Weligama Bay Inn - a family affair at weekends by Beverly Jansz The 100-year old Dutch building standing majestically in Weligama, overlooking the beautiful Weligama Bay beach, is the Weligama Bay Inn, owned and managed by the Ceylon Hotels Corporation.
The Weligama Bay Inn still bears the old world charm of the Dutch era. The broad large pillars are still in good condition despite its age, adding a distinctive Dutch flavour. The hotel has become popular not only among foreign tourists who are beach lovers, but also Sri Lankans who have made the hotel a family affair specially during weekends. The hotel stands amidst a large garden which has been tastefully landscaped. Large 'Sakura' trees adorn the garden, which adda beauty to it. The 'Kapparatota' fish selling point overlooking the hotel has become a big attraction to tourists. The Weligama Bay Inn with eight rooms and all modern facilities, is priced to suit the Sri Lankan purse,. Manager, A. C. Seneviratne said. Seneviratne who has been with the Ceylon Hotels Corporation sine 1972, is a experienced hotelier. Under the guidance of CHC Chairman, Bodhisiri Ranasinghe, Senior Manager, Marketing/Travel, Ranjith Balasuriya and his marketing team are working round the clock to attract foreign tourists and Sri Lankans to this beautiful beach-front hotel. Balasuriya said that CHC Chairman Ranasinghe's plans are to build a banquet hall in the near future to cater to weddings and other banquet functions, as Weligama is popular for big weddings, and banquet functions. He further said that the newest addition to chain of hotels owned and managed by the Ceylon Hotels Corporation is "Nivahana" in Nuwara Eliya. The Marketing team of the CHC is all out to popularise this hotel in Sri Lanka's top tourist destination, Nuwara Eliya, before this year's tourist season in April. "On Nekath days we record a one-hundred percent occupancy rate," Seneviratne said. Weligama Bay Inn has also become popular for family outings, company outings, picnics and seminars due to its beautiful beach location. "Most of our guests prefer the large garden for functions, as it overlooks the scenic Weligama beach," the Manager said. Guests at the hotel get a rare and magnificent view of the golden sunrise and sun set from the rooms. This is a plus point for the hotel and is something unique.Guests savour delicious Western, Eastern and Sri Lankan cuisine prepared by an experienced chef, N. A. Amarasena and his team of five expert cooks. Sri Lanka's spicy rice and curry is very popular especially among foreign guests. The hotel also offers typical Sri Lankan dishes of Jak fruit. Ela Batu, Bread fruit (Del), Polos, and the 'catch of the day' from the Weligama Bay Beach. The hotel is a popular transit spot for tourists visiting Kataragama and Yala and Bundala sanctuaries. The well-trained staff work round the clock to see that every guest 'feels at home' at the Weligama Bay Inn, and ensures the best services at all times. ################# Bentota Beach Hotel opens after refurbishing by KarEl Roberts Ratnaweera When Sri Lanka's internationally-acclaimed architect Geoffrey Bawa
designed Bentota Beach Hotel more than two decades ago, it In pictures taken from a helicopter, the hotel could be likened to an emerald set in a ring of sapphire; it stands between the Bentota lagoon and the deep blue sea which, at this time of year is as placid as the lagoon itself, and it is only when one walks along the corridors that one sees how spacious the building is, although that impression may not be got from the exterior. Among the four-star resorts's outstanding decorative features is a ceiling area covered with squares of Ena de Silva's Batik Art put together to make the whole ceiling. An outstanding feature of Bentota Beach Hotel's restaurants is the Araliya Restaurant which serves a gourmet a la carte menu.Bentota Beach Hotel offers guests an unrivalled variety of water sports, with the Club Intersport adjacent to the hotel - a sports lovers' paradise with wind-surfing, jet skiing, beach volleyball, tennis, squash, billiards, river cruises, elephant rides speedboat divin (on request) diving classes, banana boating, badminton, table tennis, a fully-equipped gymnasium, water gymnastics and the ancient sport of archery. ################# Kalaiselvam new DG Tourist Board Seenivasagam Kalaiselvam has been appointed the new Director General of the Sri Lanka Tourist Board. An old boy of Wesley College Colombo, Kalaiselvam and holds a B.Sc (Hon) degree from the University of Jaffna. He participated in the UNDP/WTO Fellowship Program at The George Washington University, USA and was awarded the Postgraduate Certificate of Advanced Tourism Planning in 1989. In addition, he has also obtained qualifications in Tourism Marketing, Airline Management, and Computer Science. He is a Licentiate of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka.Kalaiselvam started his tourism carrier in January 1980 as a Research Assistant in a Tourism Research Project funded by the International Development Research Centre in Canada. In May 1981, he joined the Sri Lanka Tourist Board as the Market Intelligence Officer. During his 22 years of service in the Sri Lanka Tourist Board he has served in many divisions and held the posts of the Director/Finance and Director/Planning and Development. He was the Project Accountant and the Secretary to the steering committee to the Tourism Master Plan during the period 1991 - 1992. He was also a senior lecturer on Tourism at the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management during the period 1994 to 1997 and was also a visiting lecturer on tourism at the Open University of Sri Lanka. He has published many research articles and presented papers in international conferences and seminars. Recently Kalaiselvam presented papers on the subject of "Discounting or Value Addition" at the Annual HCIMA Management Conference and on the subject of "Integrated Development of Local and Foreign Tourism in Sri Lanka" at the 15th annual session of The Organization of Professional Association of Sri Lanka. He has represented the Sri Lanka Tourist Board in many international tourism fora. He is a member of the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Ceylon Hotel School Graduates Association. As the new Director-General of the Sri Lanka Tourist Board Kalaiselvam will be the Competent Authority of Sri Lanka Tourism under the Tourism Development Act No. 14 of 1968. |
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became the
island's first Southern Resort Hotel and today enjoys the reputation of
being the flagship of Keell's Hotel's tropical beach resorts.The resort
was recently refurbished over a one-and-a-half-year period when it was
closed to the public, Rohan Amerashinge, Director and General Manager of
the hotel said.
