Jetwing Sea honours with PATA Gold award

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has honored Jetwing Sea with a PATA Gold Award in the category of Environment – Corporate Environmental Program, as a part of the PATA Gold Awards 2012.

This year’s Awards attracted 180 entries from 79 organisations and individuals worldwide, and the victory stands testament to the consistent commitment shown by Jetwing towards the environment.

Titled ‘Jetwing Sea – A Greener Vision’, the entry impressed the judging panel with its high quality, and the measures and initiatives which are utilised at the property. This occasion marks the third Gold Award won by Jetwing; the first being for ‘A Taxi Service for the Community’ by Jetwing Lighthouse under the category of Education and Training in 2005, and the second for ‘Together We Can Make It – The Jetwing Eternal Earth Project’, based at Hunas Falls (formerly under Jetwing) under Environment - Corporate Environmental Programme in 2009. In addition, Jetwing Vil Uyana won the PATA Grand Award in 2007 for Education and Training for the novel Jetwing Youth Development Project – ‘We Dreamed a Dream’.

Jetwing Sea, formerly known as the Seashells Hotel, holds a unique place in the history of the company. Dating back to 1972, the property was constructed by Founding Chairman Herbert Cooray for G.E.B. Milheusen, a pioneer in the tourism industry. Herbert built the hotel in record time, in just 6 months, and purchased it 6 years later, making significant improvements to it as well such as a new 35 room wing as well as a swimming pool. In mid-2010, Jetwing Hotels undertook and completed a major re-creation of the original hotel, launching the sleek, elegant and contemporary Jetwing Sea in January 2011. The re-creation was the product of internationally renowned architect and Bawa student, Murad Ismail, and was at every stage dedicated to utilising and maintaining energy efficiency and environment friendly operations.

 “Winning the Gold Award for Jetwing Sea’s environment initiatives is a sign that we are on the right path,” said a smiling Jude Kasturi Arachchi, the Head of Engineering for Jetwing Hotels. “We looked into simple, often overlooked means of efficiency, such as maximising natural light and ventilation, 100% energy efficient lighting through LED, CFL and Fluorescent T5 bulbs, solar power for room illumination and hot water generation during daytime and a biomass boiler for night time. Other measures include an energy efficient central chiller for air –conditioning, LED backlit guest room TVs, and an in-house sewage treatment plant to recycle and reuse waste water,” he added.

“Jetwing is being recognised for our commitment to our environment, and it is indeed a great feeling. In January our practices were described in Paradise Exorcised by renowned author Juliet Coombe, and now we have won a PATA Gold Award for them. It certainly is an honor, and we will continue to support sustainable practices and operations,” said Jetwing Chairman Hiran Cooray.