Thambapanni Leisure to introduce green hospitality in the south

Small luxury hotel Thaproban Pavilion Resort and Spa to open in December

By David Ebert

Thambapanni Leisure (Pvt) Ltd. Group General Manager Janaka Kuruwitage introduced the company’s latest small luxury hotel, Thaproban Pavilion Resort and Spa, at a press briefing held on Tuesday.

The newest addition to the company’s portfolio of properties, located in Unawatuna, Galle, was built with an investment of Rs. 160 million and is to open its doors in December 2012, catering to the high-end European and local market.

Composed of eight single room suites and eight two-roomed villas, with a fine dining restaurant, swimming pool, gym and a spa, the hotel also aims to set a new standard with a host of environmentally-friendly features to be introduced as well.

Commenting on the new project and the company’s efforts to introduce environmentally responsible tourism, Kuruwitage, a hospitality industry veteran with over three decades of experience, told the Daily FT: “Thambapanni Leisure is affiliated with the Switch Asia Green-in-Sri Lanka program under the auspices of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and we have been inspected and accredited due to our vision of building up a host of leisure properties that are environmentally responsible, because right now, the high-end tourist is more aware of the issues pertaining to our environment and prefers a guilt-free holiday experience that doesn’t contribute to the degradation of the locale that they choose to vacation at.”

Hence, he said the group fully believes in the long-term benefits of sustaining a program such as this. Its three properties – Thambapanni Retreat, Thaproban Beach House and the latest offering, Thaproban Pavilion – will feature a sewage treatment system from Claro Environmental Technologies and Equipment that purifies its sewage output by up to 98%, which it will then reuse for the maintenance of the gardens.

“In addition we have also installed a rain water harvesting system which utilises the collected water for use in the bathroom cisterns in the guest rooms. Also, our hot water supply is totally solar power dependent and we have a sufficient holding capacity so as to minimise our dependency on the main electricity supply. We also hope to supply any excess power generated by our solar systems to the main power grid in the future,” he added.

The company, which began its operations in 1989, has invested a further Rs. 40 million on a centralised accommodation and human resources centre for its 150-strong staff, which features a bio gas plant that uses kitchen waste from all three of the properties to generate the cooking gas requirements in the central staff kitchen.

The company’s Managing Director Preshan Dissanayake stated: “My vision is to create a corporate model based on ecological responsibility and a strict focus on empowered human resource practices. This I believe is what the tourism industry in Sri Lanka should aspire to achieve; a proper utilisation of the people involved and an insistence on best practices in terms of environmental sustainability. This is something Thambapanni Leisure will always stand for and I am confident that it will pave the way for our continued success in all our future ventures.”

Pix by Daminda Harsha Perera