Archives

Business Travel

Rs. 125m ECOTEL chalet complex to be set up

by Florence Wickramage

In harmony with nature - one of the Green Chalets in the complex against the Hantane mountains

An exhilarating experience of holidaying with nature and enjoying its beauties within cosy comforts will be something to look forward to when the four-star rated One hundred and twenty five million rupee Ecotel Chalet Complex makes its debut to the tourism and hospitality industry by December 2003.

Located at Hantane in the historical Kandyan kingdom, against the backdrop of the Hantane range of mountains of the salubrious central hill country, where an overall serenity is the order of the day - experience Ecotel with 'nature' at its best. The complex site is centrally located and within easy reach of other holiday destinations such as Nuwara Eliya and UNESCO promoted World Heritage sites such as Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Dambulla, Sigiriya etc.

Ecotel Complex Resort is a BOI approved project and the 50-chalet eco-friendly resort will be the first of its kind in the country. Sprawling over a 20 acre site the resort will stress the preservation of the natural environment in a balanced relationship between development and environment conservation. All primal forest areas will be undisturbed and structures are planned to be located in second growth vegetation areas previously cleared for agriculture.

In line with the architecture of this historical cultural heritage city, Ecotel will lay stress on the Kandyan theme in its overall designing and its international standard facilities will be based on the concept of sustainable development.

The promoters say that a holistic approach to infrastructure development will be followed whereby all aspects of infrastructure are seen as interdependent. Natural resources such as wind and solar power will comprise part of the lighting system. Special emphasis on recyclable methods rather than disposal will be a factual reality in this resort. Among other features will be a waste bio conservation system, organic farming and botanical garden, promotion of eco-habits among guests, eco-friendly transportation, "power down" concept etc.

Designed to be a complete vacation, recreation and entertainment complex it will offer facilities for small conferences, cultural and environmental seminars, exhibitions, craft workshops, organic gardening demonstrations, meditation sessions, recreation fitness club and Ayurvedic herbal medicine centre, bird watching, daily nature walks, "back of the house" renewable energy infrastructure workshops and excursions to cultural heritage sites.

The final product will ensure "re-uniting man with nature and natural bio-system" and is backed by a team of professionals in the trade. All project promoters and technical resource personnel are highly qualified local and international persons with extensive practical experience in tourism and the hospitality industry. The Principal Promoter himself an enthusiastic environmentalist with Post-Graduate scholastic experience in Tourism and Hospitality Management and Marketing from the University of Bournemouth.

Ecotel will contribute to the local economy by providing opportunities for 180 persons, direct and indirect; promotion of local arts and crafts - property, handicrafts, indigenous music and dance; providing a market for local produce such as fruit and vegetables and community involvement relationships between the resort and various community organisations.

With the increased awareness and interest in nature and the demand for cultural tourism destinations, Ecotel will target guests whose needs include a holiday in an eco-friendly environment and warm and friendly hospitality in serene and tranquil surroundings.

Each chalet in the Ecotel Resort complex will be a "green room" fragranced by natural flowers, where a guest would get the opportunity to " wake up with nature, be with nature and retire at night with nature" right throughout the holiday.

India's ailing Shimla toy train hopes for boost from centennial

SHIMLA, India, Nov 21 (AFP) Faced with heavy losses, India's famous toy train in the northern Himalayas is marking 100 years on the tracks, with preservationists hoping the anniversary will turn around its cash problem.

Inaugurated by British viceroy Lord Curzon in November 1903, the once steam-engined "Hill Puffer" chugs down 96 kilometers (60 miles) from Kalka in the mountains to Shimla, the summer capital of colonial India.

But ironically, a 1996 decision to heavily subsidise tickets to attract more tourists has devastated the route's finances, even though it has brought in more visitors who like the British colonial rulers want to escape India's sweaty summers.

A one-way ticket on the narrow-gauge route can now run as low as 50 cents, leading to losses of about 100 million rupees (two million dollars) a year and open talk of shutting the relic down.

Hoping to save the fixture from extinction, Indian Railways and preservationist groups are appealing to UNESCO, the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to give the toy train world heritage status.

The status was already given three years ago to another celebrated British-era mountain track, at Darjeeling in eastern India.

When work began on the toy train in 1889 it was considered an engineering marvel. It rises from 650 meters (2,145 feet) above sea level to a breath-taking 2,100 (6,930 feet).

The train passes through 103 tunnels, 969 bridges, 919 curves and 20 railway stations.

US travel writer Paul Theroux, who rode on the track in 1974, wrote of the experience:

Despite the romance of such journeys, India's 63,000-kilometer (39,000-mile) railway system has been ailing for years due to unviable routes and artificially low fares.

Efforts to reform the railway system have met fierce political opposition. With a 1.6 million-strong workforce, Indian Railways is the world's largest employer.

Hoping to recoup losses, the railways has allowed hotels and film crews to charter trains on the Shimla-Kalka route at about 2,000 dollars for a two-way journey.

But one such deal ended in near disaster in December 2001. A Canadian film crew had chartered a classic steam-engine train on the route. A spark shot out of the engine, setting fire to the dry winter grass. The gusts of the helicopter only fanned the flames, and crops around the tracks were destroyed before the fire could be put out.

Since then, the steam-engine toy trains have been permanently retired.

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager