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| Sunday, 8 December 2002 |
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Potential of Indian market not fully tapped by INDUNIL THENUWARA
The government should consider accepting Indian rupees at certain institutions in Sri Lanka. Although the currency is not accepted at present, the move could prove to be beneficial to the country's tourism industry, Gerard Ondaatjie, Managing Director of Nuwara Eliya Hotels Co. Ltd. and Director Mercantile Investments Ltd. told the Sunday Observer. "India is a huge market which has not yet been fully tapped. Although the number of Indian tourists to Sri Lanka has increased over the years, the potential of this market has not yet been exploited. Even if we can capture a small part of this market, it would mean large numbers," he said. As part of the measures to attract Indians to the Grand Hotel Nuwara Eliya, the Grand Indian Restaurant was set up an year ago at the hotel. The past year has been a successful one for the restaurant which serves North and South Indian cuisine. The restaurant had seen an investment of four million rupees and had utilised the expertise of renowned Indian chef Kishore Reddy. A large number of Indians are vegetarians and this factor has been taken into account when building the restaurant. "The venture has started paying off as evident by the success it has achieved during the previous year," he said. "The restaurant was launched by us not just as a product, but as a destination builder. "We are giving another reason for tourists both local and foreign to visit Nuwara Eliya apart from the environment and golf. Destination building was our main objective," Ondaatjie said. Nuwara Eliya can be vigorously promoted in the Indian market specially due to its ethnic affiliation to South India. He welcomed the move to issue visas to Indian visitors at the Katunayake airport as a measure that would greatly facilitate travel between the two countries as it eliminated the need for tourists to visit an embassy. "The Indian market is a powerful and untapped segment for Sri Lanka and it will do a lot of good for us to cultivate this market while continuing to develop the established European markets. India has the biggest middle income population which Sri Lanka can attract. There will not be much of a language barrier either." He said Sri Lanka's tourism industry is looking upwards at present and most hotels including guesthouses are fully booked. Although special packages are offered to entice visitors, much more needs to be done. If tourism develops and reaches a certain stage, destinations will be competing on their own to attract tourists, he said. The industry would welcome more flights into the island as this is a matter of great importance. "If foreign tourists have to undergo many hassles when obtaining tickets; if flights are not available, many will be put off. We have to create a situation where such things do not happen," Ondaatjie said. Mercantile Investments is optimistic about the future prospects for the industry and will consider more investments on its tourism business after February. "The East Coast where we have the Nilaveli Beach Hotel is foremost among our plans, although we are focusing on all our hotels," he added. The company also manages the Royal Palms Beach Hotel and Tangerine Beach Hotel in Kalutara. |
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