A common brand name soon:

Resort standards to be upgraded

Charumini DE SILVA

Tourism is one of the world’s biggest industries, which generates substantial income, employment, foreign exchange and Government revenue.

Tourism Minister Achala Jagoda said that it is essential to uplift the quality and the standards of the holiday resorts managed by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA). The main objective of the initiative is to upgrade the resort standards and get all the resorts under a common brand name in the near future.

He was speaking at a media briefing yesterday to outline the 40th anniversary celebrations of the Bentota National Holiday Resort at the Ministry of Tourism.

Tourism, the fourth highest foreign exchange earner in the country, turning 40 generates much revenue to the tourism industry and the ministry will make the tourism industry the first foreign exchange earner.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has declared 2011 as the Year of Visit Sri Lanka and the ministry has taken steps to develop the entire infrastructure by next year to meet the target of attracting 2.5 million tourist arrivals by 2011.

The SLTDA has five National Holiday Resorts (NHRs) in Bentota, Kataragama, Anuradhapura, Bandarawela and Nuwara Eliya. The Bentota NHR was the first in Sri Lanka and the 40th anniversary celebrations is a positive contribution to the tourism industry and the country. Six hotels were developed in the resort under the Bentota NHR resort, he said.

The Minister said that the Bentota NHR has proved that a planned tourism initiative was one of the best options in the industry.

Plans are under way to set up NHRs in Arugam Bay and Pasikudah as the ministry could not achieve these goals due to the three-decade conflict in those areas. However, with the dawn of peace the Tourism Ministry is keen to re-launch the projects with more novel concepts in the near future.

The resort has over 600 rooms - one star to five star categories and the Bentota NHR is a popular resort among international and local tourists. Peaceful tourism facilities should be offered for a successful business and the benefits should be shared by the local community, he said.