Travel / Lifestyle

'Reach beyond the beaches':

Hotel Ceysands Aluthgama to enjoy five star status
 

Elmo Leonard in Bentota

Hotel Ceysands Aluthgama will be upgraded into a 5-Star Hotel, Hotel Serendib Bentota into four stars and Lihiniya Surf Hotel Bentota will improve its star class property. Sri Lanka's current campaign to 'reach beyond the beaches', will go side by side, while resort hotels are also going up-market, chairman, Sri Lanka Tourist Board (SLTB) Udaya Nanayakkara said.

The beaches were one of Sri Lanka's first and main tourism attractions and the need to focus on tourism marketing of the beaches continues, Nanayakkara said.

Bentota Resort, the first tourist resort in Sri Lanka to be built, with the onset of mass tourism in the country 35 years ago, designed by renowned architect, Geoffrey Bawa is to get a facelift.

Meetings were held here, between the Minister of Tourism, Anura Bandaranaike, SLTB chairman, other tourism officials, members of parliament representing these southern constituencies and the small fry who live off the tourism industry in the south, such as three-wheel drivers, small shopkeepers who sell items of tourist interest and local produce suppliers to tourist hotels.

These people asked that more tourist hotels be built in the south, to provide employment for the growing population, or risk a society with idle young people.

The tourism minister acknowledged that tourism was the key industry in the south with a trickle-down effect on population, here, and will continue to be so, in time to come.

The first phase of developing the Bentota Resort got under way, with Minister Bandaranaike unveiling a plaque, commemorating 35 years of service he has rendered to the country as a politician.

In Bentota Resort, a Sri Lanka Travel and Tourism school will be built, a new shopping area for the display and sale of handicrafts and souvenirs, and aesthetically pleasing structures at the entrance to the resort.

Also on the cards are the construction of a well-equipped marina and water sports centre, sea plane landing pier, luxury model landing pier, luxury model holiday bungalows, new restaurants, developing the roads, illuminating the beach and parking areas with rest facilities for taxies and trishaw drivers.

Minister Bandaranaike said that the travel and tourism school to be built at the Bentota Resort will be of immense help to the educated youth of the area, to find employment. Around 150 trishaw and taxi drivers will benefit when separate parking areas are constructed for them. These drivers denied breaking the law, touting or compelling tourists into hiring their taxies, as reports said.

A consensus is now on to bring together all stake-holders in the industry who have interests in Bentota, such as hoteliers, travel agents, tour operators and to put into operation a common plan where all groups will benefit from tourism.

Spence Hotels clinch latest international food safety standard

Heritance Hotels and Resorts and Aitken Spence Hotels and Resorts has successfully completed ISO 22000 and HACCP certification audits for three of their properties.

ISO 22000-2005/HACCP is the latest international standard on food safety management systems, which ensures high food hygienical standards, while preserving the quality of cuisine. This will gradually become the norm and finally a mandatory requirement for all food-handling operations globally.

Heritance Kandalama, The Tea Factory and Earl's Regency have been certified in compliance with ISO 22000 by SGS - the certifying company.

Aitken Spence, which owns and manages a chain of internationally award-winning properties, said that the other hotels in the chain too will be conducting certification audits. When so certified, the company would have the distinction of being the only hotel chain in Southeast Asia to have this privilege.

Recently, the Group's Skills Development Chef Dimuthu Kumarasinghe won in Singapore "The Food and Hotel Asia" Culinary Competition and the highest gold medal tally in the last Culinary Olympics held in 2004 in Frankfurt, while Aitken Spence were the runaway winners at the last Culinary Art competition in Colombo organised by the Chefs' Guild of Sri Lanka.

It has also won many prestigious international awards for food and service, the CNN American Express award for excellence in the hospitality service, the SAGA award continuously for 10 years, the Green Globe 21 Certification, ISO 14001 Certification and the American Leeds certification on environmental standards.

Commenting on a yet another pioneering achievement by Aitken Spence Hotels, its Managing Director Malin Hapugoda said "We have established Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) to ensure that all our clients enjoy safe and quality food".