Features
Hoteliering
G.E.B. Milhuissen, who owned a thriving timber firm named Cetrac, in Peliyagoda had been a friend and business associate of Jeramius, a client purchasing large quantities for his projects. Geoffrey Bawa, still in the early stages of the architectural career that would make him world-famous, had been another. Together, Milhuissen and Bawa had built the Blue Lagoon Hotel, in Talahena, Negombo in 1965 – the first modern resort hotel to be built in Sri Lanka. Kept reliably filled with guests by a Scandinavian charter-tour operator, Vingresor, the Blue Lagoon had turned out to be a very profitable investment. By 1971 Milhuissen was keen on expanding.
The site Milhuissen selected for his second hotel was Palangathurai, a fishing hamlet close to Negombo. Since his old friend Jeramius had passed away, it seemed fitting to Milhuissen that the friend’s son, who was in the same business, should build the new hotel – to be called Seashells. The estimated construction period was six months, a very tight schedule in those days. Herbert set about the challenge with his usual determination, and inadvertently found himself in the tourism business.
The site was a barren field by the sea. The village of Palangathurai, comprised a handful of tiny coconut-thatched huts populated mainly by women and children whose menfolk slept by day and went out to sea at night. Fearful for their livelihoods and suspicious of the intentions of well-dressed, influential city folk, the villagers greeted Herbert and his associates with reserve and occasional hostility. It took all Herbert’s patience, humility and understanding to win them around. His people skills, honed by his years as a student politician and building contractor, were equal to the task. By the time Seashells was complete, the villagers of Palangathurai had become his friends.
The project also made him friends among the representatives of Vingresor, the Swedish charter operator, who also had an equity stake in Seashells. With tourism booming, it was not long before the Scandinavians were pressing Herbert to build a hotel of his own. If only he would build it, they promised, they fill it for him.
Herbert who loved challenges and to experiment with new ideas was not averse to the proposition. His involvement in Seashells Hotel and the long evenings spent talking shop with Milhuissen and the Scandinavians had given him considerable understanding of the business of owning and running tourist hotels. He considered the idea for a long time, and eventually bought a plot of land in the adjoining fishing village in Negombo, Ethukala.
The Blue Oceanic Beach Hotel opened in 1973 with only six rooms ready for use – a very modest beginning. The entire project was for 60 rooms – but the demand at that time was so high and the supply so little, that the tour operators were ready to take whatever accommodation that was available. So, the unfinished hotel, with the main building area separated by a cadjan wall, opened its doors with the six completed rooms.
Blue Oceanic, at the beginning, was very much a family effort. The electric cooker from the Mattumagala house was commandeered for the hotel kitchen, as the equipment ordered for the hotel had not arrived since the scheduled opening day was a long way off. Of course, the family crockery and cutlery had also to be loaned to the hotel. Josephine shopped for supplies and the family cook, Thangaraja prepared the meals. Around this tiny operation, construction of the rest of the hotel went on. By 1974 all sixty rooms had been completed as planned.
Herbert Cooray had been well and truly bitten by the hospitality bug. From now on, hotels and hoteliering would be his passion. He loved identifying spaces in picturesque areas of the country, thinking of a concept, sourcing the architect who will be able to execute it best in keeping with the environment. Of course, he could not neglect his construction business; and given his bent for personal involvement, the effort of running two enterprises in parallel was very nearly all – consuming. Still, Herbert continued to demand the highest standards of himself, his employees and his suppliers, and such was the respect in which he was held that he inevitably received it.
The first Manager of the Blue Oceanic was Lakshman Jayawardena, a veteran hotelier at the time. Just around this time, Herbert’s friend Mark Samarasinghe’s son, Ruan, who had just completed his schooling, was looking for employment. Only 19 years old, he turned out to be an excellent recruit; and was Lakshman Jayawardena’s understudy. Today, Ruan Samarasinghe is the Managing Director of Jetwing Hotels and has just completed 41 years with Jetwing.
Despite the Scandinavians’ assurances, success did not come easily at Blue Oceanic. As in the construction business, Herbert again faced entrenched competitors with experience, resources and economies of scale on their side. The largest Sri Lankan travel firms and tour operators made booking decisions on behalf of thousands of tourists and were used to dictating terms to hoteliers; many also ran their own hotels.
In those days, tourism to Sri Lanka consisted mainly of group package tours, run back to back, with the holidaymakers corralled into tight schedules for easy processing. These foreign Tour Operators and their local agents wielded great power. There were few individual travelers and last minute bookings or cancellations were rare. Opportunities to pick up business ‘dropped’ by larger operators were few. Allotments of rooms were pre-booked and charters brought in one batch of European tourists to occupy the rooms just vacated by another batch who were transported back home. The charters usually came during the European winter months which coincided well with South West monsoon and thus the tourist season established itself from November to April.
European operators sold their package using brochures that prominently featured the hotels on offer. Getting a picture of one’s hotel into these brochures was essential in order to get bookings, but Blue Oceanic was often crowded out by bigger operators. It was a closed shop. There were other problems: Negombo, relatively populous, had been passed over by the Ministry of Tourism in favour of Bentota as the centre of tourism development on the west coast of Sri Lanka. Most foreign tour operators had not even heard of Negombo.
Moreover, the officials and operators told Herbert that Negombo beaches were dirty and crowded with locals. Undeterred, Herbert kept up his search for markets beyond Scandinavia, and was finally rewarded when TUI, one of the largest German tour operators, featured Blue Oceanic in its brochure. Herbert was determined to make the underdog Negombo a flagship resort destination in Sri Lanka, and his tireless efforts have now paid dividends. Negombo today boasts wide sandybeaches, kept clean by a vigilant Municipality and tourists left to wander undisturbed bypushy “beach boys” It offered a wide variety of accomodation dining and wining option and amazing shopping opportunities.
Meanwhile, he continued to leverage his ‘people skills’ to good effect. Understanding that hospitality is essentially a personal thing, he himself would interview and approve members of the hotel’s service staff. He had his own standards for different categories of staff and sought them as often as he could. Management was kept on its toes by Herbert’s regular evening visits to Blue Oceanic. Making these evening visits necessitated a long drive after a hard day’s work in Colombo, but Herbert never shirked – he even went on weekends!
The personal touch worked, though: Blue Oceanic was soon fielding inquiries from major European tour operators. Herbert began visiting trade fairs in Germany and the UK, along with his good friends George Ondaatjie and Lucian Perera; these visits, too, generated new business. The hard work was beginning to pay off and he was enjoying it thoroughly.
From the beginning, he was extremely sensitive to the environmental and societal factors of the location and the surroundings of his hotel projects. He ensured that the building blended with the environment and did not stand out awkwardly, the natural habitat was not destroyed or disturbances were kept to a minimum, and the day to day lives of the local community was not disrupted but enhanced in whatever way possible. Herbert was vehemently against the “all inclusive concept” that became very popular at the time.
This meant that a client got a rate at a hotel that included all facilities – meals, snacks, beverages and sometimes excursions too. When tour operators asked for this, he argued that it deprives the people of the area from benefiting from tourism. As the clients have no reason to leave the hotel, the little cafes and bars that add to the tourist experience will naturally find it hard to survive. Continuing this policy, most Jetwing hotels now sell on Bed and Breakfast giving the client the freedom and the flexibility to experience other local cuisine.
Hoteliering might have been the whole of Herbert Cooray’s involvement with tourism, had Dieter Feld, a German tour operator not visited the Blue Oceanic one day in the early 1980s to inspect the hotel and make a booking for his clients. The man simply fell in love with Negombo; he wanted to live there. The problem was that his business was handled by a company in Colombo, and commuting daily from Negombo was out of the question. Unwilling to give up his dream, he set about persuading Herbert to start a travel agency of his own. He said once he did so, he could have the entire business of handling his clients. The agency would undertake ‘ground arrangements’ – transportation, guides, etc. – for the German’s clients.
Herbert was dubious and reluctant. He knew nothing about the travel trade; hotels were what he loved. Conceptualising and creating them excited him. Seeing them operating efficiently, providing employment to many youth and giving a great service satisfied him immensely. The German suggested a compromise: he would set up the company and help run it too, so long as Herbert would provide the investment.
Thus began Jet Travels, a Destination Management Company founded in 1981, its name a direct translation of the name of the German tour operator’s firm Jet Reisen. Its four employees were accommodated in a building in front of Blue Oceanic Hotel. A bus was purchased for tours and airport transfers; its first driver was David Appuhamy, a lorry driver who had worked for Herbert for many years, ferrying building materials for his construction projects.
A couple of years later, G.E.B. Milhuissen, contemplating retirement, began disposing of his businesses. Herbert bought the Seashells Hotel in Negombo, a hotel he had built in record time. Vingresor, happy with the change of management, assisted the enterprise by moving their ground-handling business from their earlier agency to Jet Travels. Later, a larger German tour operator, ITS bought Jet Reisen and was willing to transfer their business also to Jet Travels provided the name and logo was changed. To Herbert, who was never one for research and fanfare, there was a simple solution.
Quite simply, Jet Travels became Jetwing Travels, by coining together the names of the two tour operators the company handled – German (Jet) and Scandinavian (Ving, with a slight twist became wing!). A new chapter in Herbert Cooray’s life and the history of Sri Lankan tourism had begun.
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by Dr Gotabhya Ranasinghe
Senior Consultant Cardiologist
National Hospital Sri Lanka
When we sought a meeting with Hon Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Health, he graciously cleared his busy schedule to accommodate us. Renowned for his attentive listening and deep understanding, Minister Pathirana is dedicated to advancing the health sector. His openness and transparency exemplify the qualities of an exemplary politician and minister.
Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the current Health Secretary, demonstrates both commendable enthusiasm and unwavering support. This combination of attributes makes him a highly compatible colleague for the esteemed Minister of Health.
Our discussion centered on a project that has been in the works for the past 30 years, one that no other minister had managed to advance.
Minister Pathirana, however, recognized the project’s significance and its potential to revolutionize care for heart patients.
The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the premises of the National Hospital Colombo. The project’s location within the premises of the National Hospital underscores its importance and relevance to the healthcare infrastructure of the nation.
This facility will include a cardiology building and a tertiary care center, equipped with the latest technology to handle and treat all types of heart-related conditions and surgeries.
Securing funding was a major milestone for this initiative. Minister Pathirana successfully obtained approval for a $40 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. With the funding in place, the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in September this year, and construction will begin in January 2025.
This project guarantees a consistent and uninterrupted supply of stents and related medications for heart patients. As a result, patients will have timely access to essential medical supplies during their treatment and recovery. By securing these critical resources, the project aims to enhance patient outcomes, minimize treatment delays, and maintain the highest standards of cardiac care.
Upon its fruition, this monumental building will serve as a beacon of hope and healing, symbolizing the unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier society.We anticipate a future marked by significant progress and positive outcomes in Sri Lanka’s cardiovascular treatment landscape within the foreseeable timeframe.
by Fr. Emmanuel Fernando, OMI
Jesuit Fr. Aloysius Pieris (affectionately called Fr. Aloy) celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2024 and I, as the editor of our Oblate Journal, THE MISSIONARY OBLATE had gone to press by that time. Immediately I decided to publish an article, appreciating the untiring selfless services he continues to offer for inter-Faith dialogue, the renewal of the Catholic Church, his concern for the poor and the suffering Sri Lankan masses and to me, the present writer.
It was in 1988, when I was appointed Director of the Oblate Scholastics at Ampitiya by the then Oblate Provincial Fr. Anselm Silva, that I came to know Fr. Aloy more closely. Knowing well his expertise in matters spiritual, theological, Indological and pastoral, and with the collaborative spirit of my companion-formators, our Oblate Scholastics were sent to Tulana, the Research and Encounter Centre, Kelaniya, of which he is the Founder-Director, for ‘exposure-programmes’ on matters spiritual, biblical, theological and pastoral. Some of these dimensions according to my view and that of my companion-formators, were not available at the National Seminary, Ampitiya.
Ever since that time, our Oblate formators/ accompaniers at the Oblate Scholasticate, Ampitiya , have continued to send our Oblate Scholastics to Tulana Centre for deepening their insights and convictions regarding matters needed to serve the people in today’s context. Fr. Aloy also had tried very enthusiastically with the Oblate team headed by Frs. Oswald Firth and Clement Waidyasekara to begin a Theologate, directed by the Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka, for the contextual formation/ accompaniment of their members. It should very well be a desired goal of the Leaders / Provincials of the Religious Congregations.
Besides being a formator/accompanier at the Oblate Scholasticate, I was entrusted also with the task of editing and publishing our Oblate journal, ‘The Missionary Oblate’. To maintain the quality of the journal I continue to depend on Fr. Aloy for his thought-provoking and stimulating articles on Biblical Spirituality, Biblical Theology and Ecclesiology. I am very grateful to him for his generous assistance. Of late, his writings on renewal of the Church, initiated by Pope St. John XX111 and continued by Pope Francis through the Synodal path, published in our Oblate journal, enable our readers to focus their attention also on the needed renewal in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Aloy appreciated very much the Synodal path adopted by the Jesuit Pope Francis for the renewal of the Church, rooted very much on prayerful discernment. In my Religious and presbyteral life, Fr.Aloy continues to be my spiritual animator / guide and ongoing formator / acccompanier.
Fr. Aloysius Pieris, BA Hons (Lond), LPh (SHC, India), STL (PFT, Naples), PhD (SLU/VC), ThD (Tilburg), D.Ltt (KU), has been one of the eminent Asian theologians well recognized internationally and one who has lectured and held visiting chairs in many universities both in the West and in the East. Many members of Religious Congregations from Asian countries have benefited from his lectures and guidance in the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Manila, Philippines. He had been a Theologian consulted by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences for many years. During his professorship at the Gregorian University in Rome, he was called to be a member of a special group of advisers on other religions consulted by Pope Paul VI.
Fr. Aloy is the author of more than 30 books and well over 500 Research Papers. Some of his books and articles have been translated and published in several countries. Among those books, one can find the following: 1) The Genesis of an Asian Theology of Liberation (An Autobiographical Excursus on the Art of Theologising in Asia, 2) An Asian Theology of Liberation, 3) Providential Timeliness of Vatican 11 (a long-overdue halt to a scandalous millennium, 4) Give Vatican 11 a chance, 5) Leadership in the Church, 6) Relishing our faith in working for justice (Themes for study and discussion), 7) A Message meant mainly, not exclusively for Jesuits (Background information necessary for helping Francis renew the Church), 8) Lent in Lanka (Reflections and Resolutions, 9) Love meets wisdom (A Christian Experience of Buddhism, 10) Fire and Water 11) God’s Reign for God’s poor, 12) Our Unhiddden Agenda (How we Jesuits work, pray and form our men). He is also the Editor of two journals, Vagdevi, Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue, New Series.
Fr. Aloy has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London and a Ph.D in Buddhist Philosophy from the University of Sri Lankan, Vidyodaya Campus. On Nov. 23, 2019, he was awarded the prestigious honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, the Most Venerable Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Thera.
Fr. Aloy continues to be a promoter of Gospel values and virtues. Justice as a constitutive dimension of love and social concern for the downtrodden masses are very much noted in his life and work. He had very much appreciated the commitment of the late Fr. Joseph (Joe) Fernando, the National Director of the Social and Economic Centre (SEDEC) for the poor.
In Sri Lanka, a few religious Congregations – the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Oblates – have invited him to animate their members especially during their Provincial Congresses, Chapters and International Conferences. The mainline Christian Churches also have sought his advice and followed his seminars. I, for one, regret very much, that the Sri Lankan authorities of the Catholic Church –today’s Hierarchy—- have not sought Fr.
Aloy’s expertise for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and thus have not benefited from the immense store of wisdom and insight that he can offer to our local Church while the Sri Lankan bishops who governed the Catholic church in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (Edmund Fernando OMI, Anthony de Saram, Leo Nanayakkara OSB, Frank Marcus Fernando, Paul Perera,) visited him and consulted him on many matters. Among the Tamil Bishops, Bishop Rayappu Joseph was keeping close contact with him and Bishop J. Deogupillai hosted him and his team visiting him after the horrible Black July massacre of Tamils.
Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
By Gomi Senadhira
senadhiragomi@gmail.com
“You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the ultimate result of this is the country becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet.” – President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 2024 Budget speech
Any Sri Lankan would agree with the above words of President Wickremesinghe on the false promises our politicians and officials make and the fairy tales they narrate which bankrupted this country. So, to understand this, let’s look at one such fairy tale with lots of false promises; Ranil Wickremesinghe’s greatest achievement in the area of international trade and investment promotion during the Yahapalana period, Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA).
It is appropriate and timely to do it now as Finance Minister Wickremesinghe has just presented to parliament a bill on the National Policy on Economic Transformation which includes the establishment of an Office for International Trade and the Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade.
Was SLSFTA a “Cleverly negotiated Free Trade Agreement” as stated by the (former) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate on the SLSFTA in July 2018, or a colossal blunder covered up with lies, false promises, and fairy tales? After SLSFTA was signed there were a number of fairy tales published on this agreement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International, Institute of Policy Studies, and others.
However, for this article, I would like to limit my comments to the speech by Minister Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate, and the two most important areas in the agreement which were covered up with lies, fairy tales, and false promises, namely: revenue loss for Sri Lanka and Investment from Singapore. On the other important area, “Waste products dumping” I do not want to comment here as I have written extensively on the issue.
1. The revenue loss
During the Parliamentary Debate in July 2018, Minister Samarawickrama stated “…. let me reiterate that this FTA with Singapore has been very cleverly negotiated by us…. The liberalisation programme under this FTA has been carefully designed to have the least impact on domestic industry and revenue collection. We have included all revenue sensitive items in the negative list of items which will not be subject to removal of tariff. Therefore, 97.8% revenue from Customs duty is protected. Our tariff liberalisation will take place over a period of 12-15 years! In fact, the revenue earned through tariffs on goods imported from Singapore last year was Rs. 35 billion.
The revenue loss for over the next 15 years due to the FTA is only Rs. 733 million– which when annualised, on average, is just Rs. 51 million. That is just 0.14% per year! So anyone who claims the Singapore FTA causes revenue loss to the Government cannot do basic arithmetic! Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I call on my fellow members of this House – don’t mislead the public with baseless criticism that is not grounded in facts. Don’t look at petty politics and use these issues for your own political survival.”
I was surprised to read the minister’s speech because an article published in January 2018 in “The Straits Times“, based on information released by the Singaporean Negotiators stated, “…. With the FTA, tariff savings for Singapore exports are estimated to hit $10 million annually“.
As the annual tariff savings (that is the revenue loss for Sri Lanka) calculated by the Singaporean Negotiators, Singaporean $ 10 million (Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 million in 2018) was way above the rupees’ 733 million revenue loss for 15 years estimated by the Sri Lankan negotiators, it was clear to any observer that one of the parties to the agreement had not done the basic arithmetic!
Six years later, according to a report published by “The Morning” newspaper, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 7th May 2024, Mr Samarawickrama’s chief trade negotiator K.J. Weerasinghehad had admitted “…. that forecasted revenue loss for the Government of Sri Lanka through the Singapore FTA is Rs. 450 million in 2023 and Rs. 1.3 billion in 2024.”
If these numbers are correct, as tariff liberalisation under the SLSFTA has just started, we will pass Rs 2 billion very soon. Then, the question is how Sri Lanka’s trade negotiators made such a colossal blunder. Didn’t they do their basic arithmetic? If they didn’t know how to do basic arithmetic they should have at least done their basic readings. For example, the headline of the article published in The Straits Times in January 2018 was “Singapore, Sri Lanka sign FTA, annual savings of $10m expected”.
Anyway, as Sri Lanka’s chief negotiator reiterated at the COPF meeting that “…. since 99% of the tariffs in Singapore have zero rates of duty, Sri Lanka has agreed on 80% tariff liberalisation over a period of 15 years while expecting Singapore investments to address the imbalance in trade,” let’s turn towards investment.
Investment from Singapore
In July 2018, speaking during the Parliamentary Debate on the FTA this is what Minister Malik Samarawickrama stated on investment from Singapore, “Already, thanks to this FTA, in just the past two-and-a-half months since the agreement came into effect we have received a proposal from Singapore for investment amounting to $ 14.8 billion in an oil refinery for export of petroleum products. In addition, we have proposals for a steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million), sugar refinery ($ 200 million). This adds up to more than $ 16.05 billion in the pipeline on these projects alone.
And all of these projects will create thousands of more jobs for our people. In principle approval has already been granted by the BOI and the investors are awaiting the release of land the environmental approvals to commence the project.
I request the Opposition and those with vested interests to change their narrow-minded thinking and join us to develop our country. We must always look at what is best for the whole community, not just the few who may oppose. We owe it to our people to courageously take decisions that will change their lives for the better.”
According to the media report I quoted earlier, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chief Negotiator Weerasinghe has admitted that Sri Lanka was not happy with overall Singapore investments that have come in the past few years in return for the trade liberalisation under the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. He has added that between 2021 and 2023 the total investment from Singapore had been around $162 million!
What happened to those projects worth $16 billion negotiated, thanks to the SLSFTA, in just the two-and-a-half months after the agreement came into effect and approved by the BOI? I do not know about the steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million) and sugar refinery ($ 200 million).
However, story of the multibillion-dollar investment in the Petroleum Refinery unfolded in a manner that would qualify it as the best fairy tale with false promises presented by our politicians and the officials, prior to 2019 elections.
Though many Sri Lankans got to know, through the media which repeatedly highlighted a plethora of issues surrounding the project and the questionable credentials of the Singaporean investor, the construction work on the Mirrijiwela Oil Refinery along with the cement factory began on the24th of March 2019 with a bang and Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his ministers along with the foreign and local dignitaries laid the foundation stones.
That was few months before the 2019 Presidential elections. Inaugurating the construction work Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the projects will create thousands of job opportunities in the area and surrounding districts.
The oil refinery, which was to be built over 200 acres of land, with the capacity to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was to generate US$7 billion of exports and create 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The construction of the refinery was to be completed in 44 months. Four years later, in August 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the agreement with the investors of the refinery as the project has not been implemented! Can they explain to the country how much money was wasted to produce that fairy tale?
It is obvious that the President, ministers, and officials had made huge blunders and had deliberately misled the public and the parliament on the revenue loss and potential investment from SLSFTA with fairy tales and false promises.
As the president himself said, a country cannot be developed by making false promises or with fairy tales and these false promises and fairy tales had bankrupted the country. “Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet”.
(The writer, a specialist and an activist on trade and development issues . )
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