A great holiday Samsara (Private) Ltd. 01.05.2018
INHALT BASIC ECONOMIC CONDITIONS ON SRI LANKA... 1 General Information about Sri Lanka... 1 Tourism on Sri Lanka... 1 Conditions of Investments in Tourism... 2 Location and Infrastructure... 2 Near Sights... 3 Fortress Galle (about 30 km)... 3 Temple complex Kande Vihara in Aluthgama (about 2 km)... 4 Sinharaja Forest Reserve... 4 Uda Walawe Natonal Park (a day trip)... 5 Monk's island and Mangroves... 5 Whale Watching Tour in Mirissa ( about 40 km)... 6 Kandy and the Tea Plantation in the Highlands... 6 Further sights... 7 The Company Samsara (Private) Limited... 8 Location... 8 The Concept of the Wellnesshotel... 9 Main building:... 10 Rooms:... 13 Garden and Lagoon... 19 Restaurant... 24 POSSIBILITY OF EXPANSION... 29
BASIC ECONOMIC CONDITIONS ON SRI LANKA GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT SRI LANKA Sri Lanka, the former Ceylon, is a tropical island situated in the Indian Ocean in front of the Indian south coast. The country is also called Pearl of the Indian Ocean. Sri Lanka is a tropical paradise with average temperatures of about 30 degrees Celsius what makes it an ideal holiday destination. The smallest distance between India and Sri Lanka is 54.8 km. The island is connected with India by Adamas Bridge, a group of small islands. Sri Lanka is approximately as large as Bavaria. In the centre of the island there is an area which is also known the Cultural Triangle. Many places belong to the World Cultural Heritage of the Unesco, as there are the old King's residences in Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa as well as Kandy, which is the religious centre of Buddhism. Sri Lanka is well known for the cultivation and export of tea, coffee, Indian rubber and coconuts. Because of its beautiful landscape and the rich cultural heritage (f.ex. Ayurveda, a traditional curative treatment) the island is a very popular holiday destination. figure 1: map of Sri Lanka (source: www.wikipedia.de) TOURISM ON SRI LANKA In 2013 1.27 million people visited Sri Lanka i.e. an increase of 26.7 percent compared to the previous year. 85,470 people came from Germany which means an increase of almost 20 percent compared to the year 2012. So Germany is the third most important market after India and Great Britain. The average duration of stay grew from 10 to 11 days. The rise of tourism required an extension and improvement of infrastructure. In 2013 Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, the second intern airport, was opened in the south of the island. An express way has extremely shortened the distance to the holiday resorts and beaches in the west and south -west of the island. Further projects of road construction are running at the moment and until 2020 there will be constructed 280 km of express way only around Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. In 2014 more than 1.5 million people came to the holiday island in the Indian Ocean. With 102,977 visitors Germany is the second largest group and Switzerland with 20,097 people is the fifth largest group of tourist from 1
Western Europe. Tourism is still rising. The basic economic conditions on Sri Lanka are all in all positive for foreign investors. (source: www.auswärtiges-amt.de, September 2015) figure 2: development of visitors numbers (source: www.auswaertiges-amt.de) CONDITIONS OF INVESTMENTS IN TOURISM Sri Lanka endeavours to improve the basic conditions for foreign investments. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development these investments reaching a sum of 1.3 billion US$ are higher than in the previous years. According to the Ranking Best Countries for Business, Sri Lanka reaches the position 85 from 185 listed countries in 2014. After an improvement of 15 ranks in 2012 it slightly decreased of two ranks compared to 2013. An important progress can be related to the improved supply of energy (plus 16 ranks) and to the easier allocation of planning permissions. These allocations of construction licences were computerized with the aim to make the system more effective. The restrictions for foreign investors were minimized. A hundred percent partnership/share is permitted in most industrial branches and services. (www.getai.de). Plots of land for building are not allowed to be sold to foreign investors yet. Therefore the leasing of building sites is usual. Changes in the construction on the plots are allowed after a permission process. In the case the landlord/landlady wants to have his/her land back after the leasing time he/she has to compensate the leaseholder for the already carried out measures. The corresponding details will be laid down in an officially certified contract. LOCATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE Information about the community of Aluthgama (location of the hotel). The little town of Aluthgama is situated at the south-west coast of Sri Lanka next to Bentota. It is about 85 km from the International Airport near Colombo and about 55 km from the capital Colombo to get to Aluthgama. The newly finalized motorway connects Aluthgama to the capital and the airport as well as to many other destinations and ensures convenient travel times (i.e. just over one hour from the airport to the holiday destination in Aluthgama). The railway system is well extended across the island. The south-west coast of Sri Lanka belongs to the most beautiful landscapes on the island and is for tourists the number one holiday destination, not only because of the sandy beaches, 2
figure 3: motorways on Sri Lanka (source: rolandziegler.de) NEAR SIGHTS Sri Lanka offers a variety of sights and activities which makes it impossible to mention them all. That is the reason why we only list here the sights near the hotel. FORTRESS GALLE (ABOUT 30 KM) Downtown Galle is said to be the best example of how European architecture can successfully be combined with South-Asian tradition. A grid of streets paved with cobbled stone, lovingly restored colonial style houses with wooden decoration and carvings, antiques shops, small jeweller's, cosy cafés and churches present the street life. 3
TEMPLE COMPLEX KANDE VIHARA IN ALUTHGAMA (ABOUT 2 KM) This temple of Buddhism is situated on a hill a little bit towards the inner of the country. SINHARAJA FOREST RESERVE (DAY TRIP) About 40 km from the hotel there is Sinharaja Forest Reserve, a protected area. It is the last area of unspoiled rainforest in Sri Lanka and has belonged to Unesco Heritage since 1986. Two rivers, the Koskulana Ganga in the North and Gin Ganga in the South, form the borders of this national park. In contrast to most other parks this park is not explored by jeeps but on feet accompanied by a ranger. This area has also the highest rate of endemic species on Sri Lanka and that is the reason why it became a favourite destination for the observation of birds and ornithology. 4
UDA WALAWE NATONAL PARK (DAY TRIP) One of the most popular national parks on Sri Lanka is Uda Walawe in the south of the island. Above all the many wildlife elephants attract people and make it a popular journey. MONK'S ISLAND AND MANGROVES (SHORT TRIPS) With our own hotel shuttle boat you can explore these unique mangroves' woods for a few hours and even meditate under a monk's guidance on Monk's island. 5
WHALE WATCHING TOUR IN MIRISSA (ABOUT 40 KM) It is for sure one highlight of any voyage across Sri Lanka to watch the biggest mammals on the planet - the blue whales, very closely from a boat on the Indian Ocean. Since 2007/2008 the small community of Mirissa has been developing as an ideal starting point for this attraction. KANDY AND THE TEA PLANTATION IN THE HIGHLANDS The Tooth Temple, which keeps a tooth of Buddha, is one of the most important sanctuaries of Buddhism. On your trip to Kandy you will have many opportunities to visit the tea plantations in the highlands. It is also worth visiting World' End in Horton -Plains National Park 6
FURTHER SIGHTS We particularly recommend to explore the cultural triangle of Sri Lanka. You should take your time to visit the Lions' Rock of Sigiriya with the famous fresco of the Cloud Girls and the temples of the former King's town Polonnaruwa. 7
THE COMPANY SAMSARA (PRIVATE) LIMITED The Company Samsara (Private) Limited is owned by 4 shareholders, one manager and a company secretary. The structure of the company is similar to a German GmbH. Because of the fact that the acquisition of land is not possible but to lease the estate, it is important that the lease contracts guarantee absolute security for the leaseholder. The lease for Samsara Ltd. covers 25 years. The rent for this period has already been paid entirely. The contract also contains the condition to extend the period of leasing under the same conditions. Should it meanwhile become possible to buy the estate the company has the right of pre-emption. LOCATION The hotel complex of the company is situated in the lagoon in a sidearm of the famous Bentota River in the community of Aluthgama. It is surrounded by the most beautiful mangrove woods of Sri Lanka. With our hotel owned boat you can reach the sandy beaches of the south-west coast within 3-5 minutes. The hotel is located next to a small sanctuary of Buddhism not very far from the main road to Aluthgama, but far enough to enjoy the silence of this place. The estate is 35 ares large. 8
Ground-plan: THE CONCEPT OF THE WELLNESSHOTEL When planning the hotel we focused on the recreation of our hotel guests. So we intended not to build directly near the beach but a little bit remote from the big hotels in the mangrove woods. Here you can enjoy the tranquillity and the sounds of the nature. 9
MAIN BUILDING: The main building comprises 10 air-conditioned rooms (with bathroom), a small reception area and an office room, as well as a store room and two extra toilets reserved for guests. The entrance hall is open up to the second floor, which can be reached by a small gallery. All railings are built in colonial style.the ceiling in the entrance hall are covered with mahogany. The entrance door and the door to the garden show the typical woodcarving of the English colonial time. 10
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ROOMS: Concerning the materials and fitting of the building we put a great value on the quality of the materials. So only the best materials for the construction were imported from Germany directly. Schücco company from Germany supplied us with double glazing windows which are suitable for the tropics. Switches and wall sockets are from Busch Jäger company in Germany. Fittings in the sanitary facilities are from Hans-Grohe company in Germany. Toilets and washbasins are also imported from Germany. All rooms are air-conditioned (Samsung) and are equipped with refrigerators, flat screen TVs and internet access. The furniture is Sri Lankan craftwork made from teak and mahogany, and each room is equipped with a double bed with 5-zone comfort cold-foam mattress (imported from Germany), wardrobe and a desk. The double rooms have a beautiful seating area with rattan armchairs and coffee table. Further, each room has its own terrace/balcony with mahogany seating group and a beautiful view on the garden. 13
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GARDEN AND LAGOON The garden has been built to ensure the guest can enjoy the tranquility of the place and the sounds of the nature. Wildlife (monkeys, varans, leguans and porcupines as well as an abundance of birds) regularily shows up in the surrounding jungle. A wide variety of Sri Lankan plants have been planted in the garden to provide shade or please the eye with beautiful flowers. 19
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The pool is filled with spring water from our own well. With the help of a sand filtering system the water is cleaned permanently. 21
A separate wellness area with a massage hut has been set up in the beautiful garden. Here, the guests can enjoy a traditional ayurvedic massage or enjoy a yoga lesson. The garden leads to the lagoon. Guests can be taken to the beach by the hotel-owned boat or even enjoy a longer boat trip. 22
The lagoon flows to the river mouth of the river Bentota north of which you can find one of the most beautiful sandy beaches of Sri Lanka. 23
RESTAURANT The restaurant is in a separate building in order not to disturb the guests in their rooms. The kitchen furniture and equipment have been imported from Germany (Küppersbusch). The restaurant furniture as well as the furniture in the lounge area are made of teak and made in Sri Lanka. The china, the cuttlery and the glasses are from Germany (Vega). Plan of the restaurant: 24
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POSSIBILITY OF EXPANSION Generally an extension of the complex is possible. Both bordering plots of land, except the area of the temple, have already been offered to us. Concerning these bordering plots it can be reflected on the construction of luxurious bungalows or an extended wellness area. Area 1 Area of the temple Area 2 29