Ishala Samarasinghe
Queens Hotel at Kandy
The Ceylon Hotels Corporation (CHC), is the operator of 13 rest houses countrywide and four tourist class hotels.
Rest houses, emerging from the Dutch tradition of vacationing in quaint country homes that are beautifully located amidst nature, are immensely popular in Sri Lanka, mostly amongst domestic tourists and honeymooning couples. Foreign tourists too have been patronizing rest houses more and more, in view of their charm, peaceful atmosphere and relatively low prices, as compared with tourist class hotels.
According to the Hotel Corporation’s chairman, Kumar Mallimaratchi, with the country’s situation having drastically improved this year, tourism within Sri Lanka looks set to do well, along with the rest houses owned by his company.
Overall occupancies at the corporation’s rest houses have increased from 35 percent last year to 60 percent this year, enabling it to top last year’s net profit of Rs4. 7 million with a recorded Rs 7 million for the first seven months of 1990, Chairman Kumar Mallimaratchi said recently in Colombo.
“We have been doing an average turnover of about Rs2.5 million per month, which is an indication that in addition to foreign tourists, locals too have begun to travel once again,” said Mallimaratchi, who became the corporation’s head in January.
According to him, the CHC’s most profitable property has been the rest house at Tissamaharama, strategically located in the deep south in close proximity to Yala, Kataragama, Matara and the hill country. On the crossroads to some of the island’s maJor attractions, the Tissa Rest House has brought the corporation an average monthly profit of Rs 1 million since the beginning of this year.
To better compete with its only rival, Peacock Beach Hotel of Hambantota, the 62-room rest li.ouse 1s currently undergoing a major refurbishment and renovation at the cost of Rs2.5 million.
Mr Kumar Mallimarachchi, Chairman. Ceylon Hotels Corporation
Farr Inn on Horton Plains
