C.J. Punnathara

Kochi , April 28

WITH the skies between India and Sri Lanka having opened up, the Indian hospitality industry is busy knitting new alliances to tap the best of these two worlds.

The Le Meridien group tied up with two major groups in Sri Lanka last month, which are into the hospitality sector in the island nation in a big way.

Talking to Business Line, Mr Sanjay Sharma, General Manager, Le Meridien said: "Jet Wings and Walker Tours are not only major travel operators in Sri Lanka but also own and manage seven hotels each. We plan to bring more international tourists to India from Sri Lanka, via Chennai and Bangalore from the next tourist season onwards."

However, the first off the blocks in this new and challenging venture has been the Indian Hotels Company. The Taj group has not only plans of taking more Indian tourists to Sri Lanka, but also to facilitate and nurture an international tourist flow from Sri Lanka to India as well.

Mr Thomas Rulin, Taj Residency, Cochin said: "We have tied up with the Earl's Regency in Kandy, the Tea Factory Hotel in Nuwara Eliya and the Kandalama hotel to provide an exotic experience to the Indians visiting the island nation.

"The international visitors to the Taj Exotica, Taj Samundra and the Taj Airport Garden hotel in Sri Lanka will be encouraged to visit India as well. More so the south Indian destination which are well connected and in close proximity."

Though not equally bullish on this island destination, Mr Jose Dominic, Managing Director of CGH Earth hotels said that he would be visiting Sri Lanka shortly to evaluate the potential and possibilities.

"The true tourism potential would be unleashed only when Maldives is also brought under the open sky policy. Then, the diversity in experience would be sufficient to warrant a surge in the number of tourists visiting these vastly different destinations," Mr Dominic said.

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