Heritance Hotels wins big at National Green Awards

The Heritance brand was once again in the spot light when Heritance Kandalama and Heritance Tea Factory emerged winners at the National Green Awards held last evening at the BMICH.

Heritance Kandalama, no doubt the greenest hotel in Sri Lanka and one of the greenest hotels on the planet was awarded the Gold Award in the Large Scale Hotel category. This prestigious award won by Heritance Kandalama was one of four Gold Awards presented at the award ceremony which three hundred applicants vied for.  The recent recipient of the Sri Lanka Travel and Tourism award for the island’s Best 4 Star Hotel, Heritance Tea Factory, walked away with the Silver Award in the Medium Scale Hotel category.

Sri Lanka’s entrepreneurs, industrialists, and other stakeholders who contribute their share for environmental conservation and anti pollution were recognised for their excellence in green practice, strategy and products at the award ceremony which was held for the first time this year. Organised by the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), The National Green Awards scheme was initiated in order to provide an alternative system to controlling pollution and greening the environment instead of the existing command and control approaches and education & awareness programmes.  The main aim of the all island programme is to promote sustainable management of the environment in order to achieve a green country through a clean green environment.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa graced the occasion which was organised to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the CEA.  Twenty seven Green Awards were presented in 14 sectors including textile, hotel, food and beverage, waste management and healthcare sectors.

“This is reaping the harvest of what was sown starting from 1994 by the pioneers. The philosophies practiced by them are still vigorously carried out by our present team. Through strategies planning, dedication, hard work and commitment and through passionate and pragmatic approaches we were able to be in the forefront of practicing sustainability even before the advent of the triple bottom line approach. This is clear evidence of foresight and planning,” Aitken Spence Hotels Environmental Consultant Ravi de Silva said.

Heritance Kandalama, a hotel committed to sustainable practices from conceptualisation to construction to its day-to-day operations has won a large number of awards as one of the most eco-friendly hotels in the world. It has set precedence to other hotels on how they too can be effective responsible  tourism  players by contributing  in terms of conserving the natural environment, protecting bio diversity, empowering local communities, supporting livelihoods dependent on tourism, preserving local traditions, arts and crafts and mitigating climate change especially by using bio mass as renewable energy.

The Heritance Tea Factory, Sri Lanka’s first theme hotel is a unique hotel concept, where a tea factory built several decades ago has been converted into a plush hotel. Retaining its traditional character, this most unusual hotel is situated 6800 feet above sea level amidst the misty mountains and the lush plantations of the hill country. The hotel has been recognised by one of Britain’s widely read ‘Sunday Times’ as one of the 100 best places to stay in the world and ‘The Independent’ selected Heritance Tea Factory as one of the 5 best factory hotels in the world.  

“Ecotourism, responsible tourism and sustainable tourism have become the buzz words in the tourism industry, and with the effects of global warming and climate change influencing travellers worldwide towards a more a more sustainable way of travelling. We recognised many years ago that sustainable development is an absolute necessity in today’s world while believing that it is equally important that our heritage is preserved. Heritance Hotels have struck a perfect balance of practicing sustainable tourism while preserving and protecting our heritage for future generations,” Aitken Spence Hotels.

Managing Director Malin Hapugoda said.

Aitken Spence Hotels manages a portfolio of hotels and resorts in Sri Lanka, Maldives, India and Oman. The company’s expertise in hotel design, building and management is complimented by its dedication and commitment to excellence. Located in some of the key tourist locations, each of the properties cater to a diverse client base. Aitken Spence Hotels has set precedence to other hotels on how they too can be effective responsible  tourism  players by contributing  in terms of conserving the natural environment, protecting bio diversity, empowering local communities, supporting livelihoods dependent on tourism, preserving local traditions, arts and crafts and mitigating climate change especially by using bio mass as renewable energy.

The company’s premier resorts operate under Heritance Hotels & Resorts. Its latest Heritance property Heritance Ayurveda Maha Gedara commenced operations in July 2011. It has joined the award-winning Heritance Hotels & Resorts portfolio consisting of Heritance Kandalama, Heritance Ahungalla and Heritance Tea Factory.