42 BUSINESS SUPERBRANDS

MarketFeted variously by traders and historians whovisited the island of spices centuries ago, Ceylonwas famed the world over for its natural beautyand rich culture. While the fragrance of itsspices still permeates the corners of the globe,modern Sri Lanka has developed into afavoured tourist destination for holidaymakersworldwide.

When the economy was liberalised in the1970s, several hotel properties were set up totake advantage of the increased numbers ofinbound travellers that would result from SriLanka opening its doors to the world.TheJetwing Group was one such entity that gained afirm foothold in the island’s tourism industryback then. Since then, the group has expandedand diversified into related activities with a clearvision and strategy.

From charter to budget traveller, to theFrequent Independent Traveller (FIT) category,Jetwing caters to a varied clientele today. Jetwinghas broken traditional boundaries and builtluxury boutique hotels such as JetwingLighthouse, Jetwing Beach, Jetwing AyurvedaPavilions and Jetwing Vil Uyana. While criticsdoomed these ambitious projects to eventualfailure, their stupendous success has proved thatthis was what discerning tourists were lookingfor.These impeccably maintained properties arerenowned for their flawless service anddelectable cuisine – setting a benchmark forother hoteliers.

The group’s destination-management arm,Jetwing Travels, has also diversified over theyears.The company not only handlesaccommodation, sightseeing with qualified guideservices and transportation, but has alsoexpanded into airline representation,professional conference organisation andoutbound travel. Jetwing Eco Holidays was setup in 2001 for nature-focused travellers, offeringcustomised tours to suit every budget. JetwingTravels celebrated 25 glorious years in 2006, atestimony to its enduring legacy.

AchievementsJetwing is one of Sri Lanka’s leading hotel chainsand travel groups. Its ability to innovate andexceed clients’ expectations has enabled it to

become a preferred partner organisation in SriLanka for travel and tour operators globally.Over the years, the group has won a wide arrayof awards that recognised its exceptionalofferings.

The Jetwing group received a CommendationAward in 2000 at the Green Globe Awards forits sustainability in green tourism. In 2005, JetwingLighthouse won the PATA Gold Award in theEducation and Training category for its project –‘A Taxi Service through the Community’. Inaddition, most of the Jetwing properties havereceived the internationally-recognised HACCPcertification. In 2005, Jetwing Hunas Falls wasawarded second place for the 5S productivityaward within the Central Province; whereas thefollowing year, it was awarded second place forcompanies in the large-scale service sector withinthe Central Province once again. In 2007, it wonfirst place.

Jetwing Ayurveda Pavilions was voted as SriLanka’s Leading Resort in the World TourismAwards in 2006 and 2007. Once again, thisproperty was voted Sri Lanka’s Leading SpaResort in 2007, while Jetwing Lighthouse wonthe same accolade in 2006.

In 2007, Jetwing VilUyana won the PATAGrand Award in theEducation and Trainingcategory for its youthdevelopment project, WeDreamed a Dream.Thisprogramme equipped 120students in surroundingcommunities with English-language and hotel-crafttraining, with a majority ofthem being absorbed intothe hotel cadre.

Jetwing Vil Uyana hasalso received accolades atthe Chillies Awards in2007. A relatively newcompetition for the

advertising industry, the Chillies recognisesgroundbreaking creative efforts. Jetwing VilUyana walked away with two awards in theTransport,Travel and Tourism category.Theadvertisements for this property were amongthe finalists and won the Silver award in thiscategory. It also went on to win the Bronzeaward in the Print Campaign category forService.

HistoryWhen Sri Lanka implemented a tourism masterplan, which marked its entry into theinternational tourism arena in the 1970s,Jetwing’s Chairman Herbert Cooray seized theopportunity to be associated with the tourismsector when he was invited to construct a hotelin Negombo. A contractor by profession, herose to the challenge and built a small hotelproperty of six rooms which he subsequentlyacquired, catering to the charter traveller, thusleading to the bir th of Jetwing.

Jetwing has grown from strength to strengthsince then, consolidating its position as one ofthe leading entities in the travel and tourismsector. In 1981, the Royal Oceanic Hotel was setup in Negombo and the group’s destination-management company, Jetwing Travels,established.The Yala Safari Game Lodge wasbought over in 1983, becoming the keyproperty for visitors to the safari park and itsenvirons.The group added another feather to itscap with the acquisition of the historic edifice ofSt. Andrews Hotel in Nuwara Eliya in 1987.Jetwing joined hands with Hayleys and acquiredthe 31-roomed property, Hunas Falls Hotel.Between 1991-93, Jetwing set up the HunasFalls Hotel and Tropical Villas, by which time thegroup’s airline ticketing operation – JetwingTravels – and its professional event-managementcompany – Jet Asia – were operational.

The year 1997 witnessed the establishment ofthe glorious Lighthouse Hotel and Spa in Galle,which was granted membership the followingyear of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World,

the first such accolade for a Sri Lankanhotel.

Realising the need for specialisation,Jetwing set up the Ayurveda Pavilions in2000, with Jetwing Travels receiving itsIATA accreditation at this juncture. JetwingEco Holidays was then set up in 2001with a view to attracting the burgeoningecotourist community. Jetwing hasmaintained and upgraded its propertiesregularly and Royal Oceanic, which wasrecently refurbished and renamed TheBeach, was also promptly ushered into theSmall Luxury Hotels of the World; as wasVil Uyana, in 2006, which is built on awetland.

Jetwing entered a new era byrebranding its hotels, adding on the‘Jetwing’ prefix to the names of its hotels.

Not content to rest on its laurels, the groupopened Jetwing Warwick Gardens, a scenicestate bungalow and Jetwing Kurulubedda, aluxury eco lodge in Galle, to a clamouringpublic. By now, it seemed that Jetwing possessedthe Midas touch.

And thanks to strategic relationships withtour operators and travel agents, Jetwing hasprospered even in adverse market conditions.

ProductJetwing is an umbrella company with threedistinguished sub units. Jetwing Travels, thedestination-management arm, has a specialisedunit organising professional conferences underthe banner Jetwing Events. It is also anaccredited airline-representation companyhandled by Jetwing Air.

Jetwing Travels deals in inbound andoutbound travel, covering ticketing and packagedholidays to other destinations.

Jetwing Eco Holidays specialises inecotourism. With the ever-growing demand fornature-oriented travel experiences, it hascontracted with a variety of hotels to suit theneeds of its discerning clientele.

Jetwing Hotels has grown over the past yearsfrom being a six-room hotel-owning company toa 625-room one that is represented in sevendistricts around Sri Lanka. Every hotel has itsown unique character and style – and so, eachJetwing location is an individual destination in itsown strength.The Jetwing Group probablyboasts the finest collection of hotels in Sri Lanka.

From basic needs to customised, personalisedservice, Jetwing provides them all. At a timewhen people wanted to be pampered, itintroduced spa experiences. Recently, the groupjoined hands with Elemis, the UK-based lifestylebrand, offering aromatherapy products aimed attreating each individual holistically, with plantessential oils and marine extracts mixed withnatural bases.

In the year 2005, Jetwing Hotels embarked onyet another unprecedented entrepreneurialadventure, deciding to directly import wines tobe sold exclusively at Jetwing’s hotel chain.Thewines are sourced by a few selected wineconnoisseurs based in the UK and elsewhere.The first shipment of 89 select wines and 9,936bottles arrived in Sri Lanka on 23rd November2005. Since then Jetwing Hotels have importeda new selection of wines from France.

Jetwing also celebrates Sri Lanka’s famous teaby offering single estate, loose tea which isexclusively sourced for Jetwing Hotels byRobert Wilson’s Ceylon Teas.To further enrichthe experience, tea-tasting ceremonies are heldin varying locations around most of the hotelswithin the group, enabling guests to flavour andexperience tea the Sri Lankan way.

Given the unfolding scenario ofenvironmental consciousness, Jetwing has

documented many areas and methods toconserve natural energy in its Green Directory.And following the December 2004 tsunami, thegroup was quick to assist employees andassociates who were seriously affected – Jetwingsupported its neighbouring communities torebuild their lives.

Recent DevelopmentsJetwing continues to travel along its path ofinnovation. It recently launched Villas by Jetwing,documenting the island’s heritage in this area.Jetwing Warwick Gardens, an old Englishbungalow, located in the hills of Ambewela, wasrecently renovated.This five-bedroom luxuryproperty has a variety of activities on offer.Jetwing has also opened a two-bedroom luxuryeco lodge in Galle – Jetwing Kurulubedda.Access to this property is by boat on theMamodara Ganga and it offers the guests aunique experience.

The group embarked on a new project calledJetwing Eternal Earth Project (JEEP), whichfocuses on minimising global warming and itseffects on mankind by creating a model ofreforestation at Jetwing Hunas Falls.

PromotionHaving worked closely with and dependedheavily on tour operators and travel agents overthe past years in targeting the mass market,Jetwing is now focussing its attention on directcommunications with its clientele.The group isleveraging on promoting itself through theWorld Wide Web as a key communications toolin keeping with the changing trends. Jetwing hasformed alliances with various websites such asresponsibletravel.com, slh.com, ghotw.com andkiwicollection.com to name a few. And thegroup says it will make its website moreinteractive, to enable easy access to its range ofproducts for online bookings.

Global travel trends are moving towardsbeing more environmentally-responsible andJetwing has partnered withresponsibletravel.com – a website thatpromotes only hotels that are practisingenvironmental responsibility. At present, JetwingLighthouse, Jetwing Beach and Jetwing Vil Uyanaare members of this prestigious website. JetwingEco Holidays features as a destination-management company on this site as well.Theintroduction of JEEP – which is focused onminimising global warming and its effects onmankind, by way of creating a model ofreforestation at Jetwing Hunas Falls – will alsobe used as a tool to promote Jetwing’s hotels asbeing environmentally-conscious.

Jetwing has realised the sagacity of creating anaura around the location of each of itsproperties, rendering them as strong individualdestinations in their own right.The group haslaunched a range of packages with varying

activities that would enable guests to stay at onelocation but enjoy their surroundings to thefullest.

Jetwing’s close association with theinternational and local media enables it togenerate positive and productive features, aimedat its target market.The group has been featuredin The Time, a weekly magazine published inseveral countries around the world. Jetwing VilUyana was the first Sri Lankan property to befeatured in this magazine. In addition, TheBusiness, a weekly business magazine publishedin the UK and sold internationally, featuredJetwing Vil Uyana in a double spread, anotherfirst for a leisure property from Sri Lanka.Thearticle rated the property on par with top-endresorts in the Maldives.

Brand ValuesJetwing has been singularly focussed on its visionto be world-class in every aspect of itsoperations. In consultation with representativesof associates from the different units, the groupput together a set of values which has beeninculcated in its every function.These valuescommit to a positive attitude at all times, whileworking with integrity and confidence.

Dependability and the pursuit of excellenceare the hallmarks of Jetwing’s products andservices, to which any visitor to a Jetwingproperty will testify. Jetwing now embarks on anew challenge to strengthen its overseas brandwith an intention of introducing the ‘Jetwingexperience’ to other parts of the world.TheJetwing promise continues to be ‘To give thebest in quality regardless of the category’,moving toward ‘one brand – one promise’.

www.jetwing.com

THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT

The only hotel group in Sri Lanka tohave three properties as members of theSmall Luxury Hotels of the World.

One of the few companies in Sri Lankawith a 100% Sri Lankan workforce.

The first company in Sri Lanka tointroduce the Green Directory conceptin its hotels and to have a commonenvironmental policy.

The first hotel company to introduce ateam of professionally trained naturalistsat all its hotels.

It is the only hotel group in the countryto appoint female hotel GeneralManagers.

Jetwing Sri Lanka

43BUSINESS SUPERBRANDS