Business

Luxury retreats flooded with overseas enquiries as India opens for foreign tourists

Published

4 years ago

2022/03/27

Sahan Weerasooriya

BY S VENKAT NARAYAN

Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, March 26: India opened its skies on Sunday (March 27) for foreign tourists after two years of Covid-induced shut-down. Luxury retreats, which have held off challenges faced by a pandemic-crippled industry, are anticipating a rise in demand with the resumption of regular international flights.

Ananda in the Himalayas, a destination spa resort in the foothills close to Rishikesh in Uttarakhand state, has witnessed an all-time high interest from foreigners after the issuing of tourist visas recommenced in December 2021.

Mahesh Natarajan, chief operating officer of IHHR Hospitality Ananda, its owner company, says: “Several of our regular Ananda guests from various countries have written to us describing a void they have experienced these last two years when they could not continue their annual wellness programme.”

The luxury brand has received a glut of enquiries from overseas recently, especially for its panchakarma- (an Ayurvedic technique) and meditation-based programmes, reflecting the twin needs of physical and emotional cleansing and rejuvenation after such a challenging period.

“Starting March-end, we expect a very buoyant demand from clients from the US, Western Europe, West Asia and other regions,” Natarajan adds.

A financial hub like Mumbai is already seeing pent-up demand from foreign business travel, says Amruda Nair, Director of Araiya Hotels & Resorts. However, she believes that the real impact for leisure tourism will be witnessed during the winter season from November to February.

“In long-haul markets such as the US, there is certainly interest in the cultural, heritage, wellness and adventure destinations in India. I am already seeing returning guests from the US in my hospitality business in Europe,” says Nair. Apart from three resorts in India, she also runs operations under Araiya Malta in the European nation.

Allen Machado, CEO, Niraamaya Wellness Retreats, says their overseas clients — particularly from the UK, US and West Asia — are showing willingness to return to India. The war in Ukraine, however, has dimmed interest from CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries, he adds.

“If international flights open up, we will see a good inflow and resurgence July onwards, particularly in the second and third quarters of this financial year,” Machado says.

Niraamaya runs wellness retreats (four in Kerala, one in Bengaluru and another in Kohima) and private residences (in Goa, Kerala and Karnataka). Earlier, 80 per cent of its visitors were from abroad. Post-Covid, that was reversed to more than 90 per cent in favour of domestic clients, who are extremely price-sensitive. Niraamaya had to re-strategize its revenue model, and effect a drop of up to 40-50 percent in tariffs.

There has been a major shift in how people choose their holidays, with hygiene and safety measures, less crowded destinations that are within a driving distance, and healthy cuisine forming a trend that is here to stay, says Machado.

Evolve Back Resorts got in touch with its foreign travel operators and destination management firms after a gap of nearly two years. Its Executive Director Jose Ramapuram expects overseas traffic to pick up only from October “as we now enter an off-season as far as in-bound tourism is concerned.”

“We are, however, experiencing demand from long-distance travellers from within India,” he adds. “During the pandemic, we found a lot of regional travellers from within Karnataka (where Evolve Back has three properties) and nearby states.”

In November 2019, Evolve Back had also acquired its first international property in Central Kalahari. Botswana, where its resort is situated, had no domestic demand and catered only to the international market. Following the pandemic, for two years, it had few guests. But the African nation has now opened up, and Evolve Back is seeing a rise in international demand.

Back in India at Ananda, which offers the luxury of retreating to a secluded 100-acre forest estate reserved only for resident guests, the highlights include personalisation for every guest — be it wellness assessment and guidance, one-on-one sessions of yoga and meditation, or tailor-made gourmet meals.

At Araiya’s 38-room Palampur resort in Himachal, overlooking the Dhauladhar range, its new offerings include walking tours in nearby villages and hikes in the mountains with trained guides from the neighbouring local community.

Apart from those who drive to the hills from places in the North within a four- to six-hour radius, there is an increased willingness to take single flights such as from Delhi to Dharamshala, Amruda Nair points out.

She cites a study by online travel firm Expedia last year, which suggested that the top drivers of value for people when booking hotels are enhanced cleaning measures, flexible cancellation policies and ease of refunds. She expects this trend to continue, even as luxury resorts expect increased demand with Indian tourism finally opening up.

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Business

India-Sri Lanka Foundation’s 41st meeting signals a new era of integration

Published

2 hours ago

2026/09/2

Sahan Weerasooriya

High Commissioners Santosh Jha and Mahishini Colonne chaired the 41st India-Sri Lanka Foundation meeting in New Delhi, highlighting ongoing bilateral cooperation across cultural, economic, and infrastructure sectors.

By Sanath Nanayakkare

On the surface, the 41st Board Meeting of the India-Sri Lanka Foundation (ISLF) in New Delhi on August 28, 2026, was structured as a routine diplomatic engagement. Co-chaired by Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha and Sri Lankan High Commissioner Mahishini Colonne, the session formally approved a standard slate of cultural and educational projects.

However, looking closer at the broader macroeconomic and geopolitical landscape, the meeting underscored a much deeper structural alignment between the two nations. Against a backdrop of ongoing economic recovery, bilateral discussions increasingly touch upon critical areas of regional integration, investment, and infrastructure.

Among the key areas attracting attention are post-civil war reconciliation efforts and administrative milestones in the Northern Province.

Discussions in diplomatic circles continue to focus on the progressive release of state-held lands back to civilian inhabitants, alongside the anticipated finalization of provincial council elections to support local governance frameworks.

In the economic sphere, commercial integration remains a central theme as Sri Lanka stabilizes its foreign exchange reserves.

Recent financial dialogues in Colombo were seen exploring mechanisms such as transacting in Indian Rupees (INR), aligning with wider regional efforts to facilitate bilateral trade settlements and mitigate foreign currency pressures. Financial institutions, including the State Bank of India, continue to support these bilateral trade facilitation mechanisms.

Cooperation in the energy sector is also progressing through key joint ventures aimed at harnessing renewable resources. Proposals such as the 200MW solar power project in Sampur, developed via a partnership between NTPC and the Ceylon Electricity Board, highlight ongoing efforts to diversify national power generation. Discussions concerning cross-border grid interconnections further reflect strategies to enhance regional energy security and optimize renewable capacity.

At the same time, ongoing reviews of project tariffs – such as those involving renewable initiatives by firms like Adani Green Energy – demonstrate the government’s focus on balancing capital investments with domestic economic interests.

As the ISLF marks decades of supporting bilateral cultural exchanges through hundreds of initiatives, the overarching partnership between New Delhi and Colombo continues to evolve. Navigating these complex frameworks of trade, energy, and development remains essential as Sri Lanka charts its economic future within the South Asian region.

Business

Sysco LABS named one of Sri Lanka’s Most Outstanding Women-Friendly Workplaces for 2026

Published

2 hours ago

2026/09/2

Sahan Weerasooriya

At the far left and far right, respectively: Ruchini Weerawardena, Senior Manager – Talent Management and Development, and Tashiya Jayatilaka, Team Lead – People Operations accepting the award on behalf of Sysco LABS.

Sysco LABS, the Global Innovation Center of Sysco, has been named one of Sri Lanka’s Most Outstanding Women-Friendly Workplaces at the Women-Friendly Workplace Awards 2026, marking its highest recognition at the awards to date.

The recognition represents an important milestone in Sysco LABS’ ongoing journey to build a workplace where women are supported not only to enter and participate in the technology industry, but to develop, progress and build meaningful long-term careers.

Held recently, the 2026 awards organized by Satynmag continued a six-year journey of recognizing and encouraging organizations to move beyond intention towards meaningful and measurable progress for women at work. This year’s awards placed particular emphasis on a defining question for women-friendly workplaces: beyond representation, how far are women able to go?

This win also reflects a progression in the company’s recognition journey at the Women Friendly Workplaces Awards. Following an “Honorable Mention” in the 2023 edition of the ceremony while winning a special award for “Best Women in STEM Project” in 2025, 2026 marks the first time Sysco LABS has been recognized as one of Sri Lanka’s Most Outstanding Women-Friendly Workplaces.

Business

CCPI-based headline inflation accelerates in August 2026

Published

2 hours ago

2026/09/2

Sahan Weerasooriya

The Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI, 2021=100) based headline inflation (year-on-year, Y-o-Y) increased to 8.0% in August 2026 from 7.3% in July 2026, primarily due to the statistical base effect in food inflation. Meanwhile, food inflation (Y-o-Y) increased to 8.5% in August 2026 from 6.3% in July 2026, contributing mainly to the increase in headline inflation, while non-food inflation (Y-o-Y) decelerated to 7.7% in August 2026 from 7.8% in July 2026.

On a month-on-month basis, the CCPI increased by 0.28% in August 2026. This increase was mainly driven by the food category, which contributed 0.20 percentage point, largely owing to the increase in prices of Milk Powder, while the non-food category contributed a marginal 0.07 percentage point.

Meanwhile, core inflation (Y-o-Y) accelerated to 5.1% in August 2026 from 4.4% in July 2026.

According to the inflation projections made at the monetary policy round in July 2026, headline inflation is expected to remain above the target of 5% in the near term, before easing and stabilising around the target over the medium term, supported by appropriate policy measures. These projections are conditional, among other assumptions, on the expectation that the effects of the tensions in the Middle East and their spillovers will be temporary and gradually dissipate.