Taj Hotels is looking at expanding its presence in Sri Lanka. The group now has three hotels in the country. “We are looking at a lot of properties to complete the circuit, and looking at like-minded investors,” says Manoj Mathew V. M., General Manager, Vivanta by Taj, Bentota.

Mathew said the next stop for Taj would likely be Trincomalee in the East. The port city has “great beaches”, and a hotel may come up there within a year, he said. The group is eyeing six new hotels, including one in Nuwara Eliya, famous for its tea gardens, and in Kandy, a city of historical and religious significance. The hotels will be set up and managed in partnership with investors.

After the civil war in Sri Lanka, the government has been keen to boost tourism. Expressways are being built, a second international airport is getting ready at Mattala, and in the war-wracked areas, infrastructure is being rebuilt and developed. Private businesses too are ready to invest in tourist activity.

Taj is renovating all its hotels in Sri Lanka. The 15-year-old, 160-room Vivanta, earlier known as the Taj Exotica, has been through a $12.5-million makeover. The Taj Samudra in Colombo is undergoing a $20-million makeover and 100 rooms are being added to the Gateway Hotel Airport Garden Colombo at a cost of $12 million.

The civil war did not affect Vivanta’s business much as it is situated in south-western Sri Lanka. Its guests comprise Europeans, West Asians and Indians and increasingly, South Koreans and Chinese, reflecting a trend that is true for the rest of the country. It maintains occupancy of 70 per cent throughout the year. “The country is pro-tourists, the beaches are clean and unobtrusive, there are no hawkers to bother you, and the country is a heady combination of culture, cuisine, art and mountains,” said Mathew, who has been with the group for 27 years.

(This correspondent visited Sri Lanka as a guest of Vivanta by Taj.)

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