Pasikuda fast becoming an investor hub

By Dhaneshi Yatawara

Passikuda bay

Deserted for more than two decades, the Pasikuda beach has now become the latest tourist attraction. Capturing the best views of the bay, the Centara Passikuda Resort and Spa, the latest Sri Lankan member of the Thailand based Centara Hotels and Spas, sits on this long stretch of coastline renowned for its calm and shallow waters.

Situated 35 kilometres north of Batticaloa, the Centara Passikuda Resort and Spa caters to varied tastes and preferences.

In this tranquil locale the resort offers couples and families alike absolute comfort. Pasikuda is known to have one of the longest stretches of shallow coastline in the world.

Pasikuda is fast becoming an investor's hub as foreign and local investors have shown interest in developing tourism along the beach.

Group Director, Marketing and Communications, Centara Hotels and Resorts, Ms Kanokros Sakdanares said that building the business in Sri Lanka is a unique experience.

Centara Hotels and resorts have 41 deluxe and first-class hotels covering all the major tourist destinations in Thailand, and a further 17 resorts in the Maldives, Vietnam, Shanghai, Bali Indonesia and Mauritius.

"Brands and properties within Centara ensure that specific categories such as couples, families, individuals and meeting and incentive groups will find a hotel or resort appropriate for their needs," she said.

Centara operates 27 branches of Spa Cenvaree, one of Thailand's luxurious and innovative spa brands, with its recently launched value brand Cense by Spa Cenvaree, which provides core spa services for busy travellers.

Spa Cenvaree will shortly be opened, offering a range of Ayurvedic treatment and other therapeutic programs using natural ingredients for the wraps and rubs. There is also a fully equipped fitness centre.

"Sri Lanka is a year-round tourist destination with one side of the country having lush green vegetation and another side the serene coastal line," said Area General Manager (Sri Lanka), Centara Hotels and Resorts, Alexandre Gluaser.

New destinations

Alexandre said the Centara family is on an expedition to introduce new destinations in this country for tourists. Minneriya and Maduru Oya National Parks are almost within an hour's reach.

Tourists can also see the skills of Sri Lankan artisans in Polonnaruwa. During the day, a tourist gets the chance to experience the true rural Sri Lanka, its rich bio diversity in this rediscovered land of sea, sand, vast lush green terrains and isolated rocky mountains.

Relaxing on the beach, in the early morning and the evenings, could be considered as the prime leisure activity while the resort has many other options for the water loving adventurer.

Alexandre said that the resort has outsourced the water games and leisure activities to a company which works closely with the Resort.

One such company, Sail Sri Lanka offers a variety of excursions which include dolphin and whale watching excursions, overnight and multi day charters on their catamaran yatch.

Meeting facilities

One of the strengths of the resort is the facilities available for meetings and events.

"This could be one of the largest facilities available in the eastern coast and is a plus point Centara Passikuda could offer guests," Glauser said.

It is a spacious venue fully equipped for meetings, seminars and weddings.

The resort organises outdoor and beach-side functions as well with all events planned and managed by an experienced team of professionals.

At the Reef Cafe, chefs blend local flavours and seasonal produce with a selection of dishes inspired by Thailand and Mediterranean countries.

Outdoor and beach-side functions could also be staged.

"As a standard, Centara provides spacious rooms as it helps guests feel free and relaxed. At the Passikuda resort most of the 125 rooms and suites overlook the beach," Glauser said.

The suites and family residences comfortably accommodate families of five or six and are equipped with bunk beds in a separate children's area.

As a family-friendly resort there is a supervised children's club, divided into Camp Safari for the younger ones and E-zone for the teenagers. And there is a children's pool.

He said the development of the internal air service has helped to improve tourism.

Hotel Manager Teddy Roland said construction of Centara Pasikuda Resort and Spa commenced in 2010 and the soft opening took place in April 2013.

"With the upgrade at the Batticaloa and Trincomalee airports and better networking systems, we could expect better opportunities in developing tourism in the east coast," said Roland.

Community base

The Centara Resort plans to go a long way in their business with the support of local communities. Tourism is a vast business area where the local communities can immensely benefit.

"More than 80% of our staff are from the locality. It is a challenge as they need to be specially trained as many have never worked in this field. But we are training them, improving their language skills, personalities and providing technical skills," said Roland.

Centara provides a stable employment to many youth of the area. Twenty-one-year-old Kandasami Jewani is one of the lucky youth hailing from Valachchenai.

As the war against terrorism ravaged this paradise land years ago, Jewani was brought up in Matale by her grandmother as it was her mother's native place. When peace dawned her family returned to Valachchanai and with the need to earn money Jewani left for Lebanon to work in a school on a two-year contract.

As the government raised the minimum age for females seeking jobs in the Middle East to 25, Jewani began to look for a job within the country at the end of her contract.

She was lucky to have found a job at the Centara Resort which was within her comfort zone. She travels from home on a bicycle and loves the job which is a different experience each day. "Now I do not have to look for employment abroad. I'm happy with my job," she said.

Pakkyarasa (57) was in the hospitality trade when Pasikuda was a favourite tourist hot spot before disturbances of the recent past.

He has had his share of experience under the iron fist of the terrorists. Today he is back in his village with his grown up children now married and live close-by. His strength at Centara is his gardening.

"Under the engineering department of the Resort we work round-the-clock to maintain a perfect environment for guests," he said.

The well maintained lawn, clean beaches, for a tourist to walk on without any hazards, are the results of the efforts of his crew and himself.

Most of the middle level managerial staff and supervisors have an excellent command of all three languages. This adds smartness to the overall professional approach of the friendly staff at Centara.