John Keells Holdings, a listed conglomerate, says their re-branding of some hotel properties as Cinnamon is part of the group’s overall reorganization. The group reorganized operations under different sectors earlier this year.
John Keells Leisure sector however lost Rs. 41 million in the first half of the year, when the tsunami affected tourism arrivals.
Resort hotels haven’t still recovered from the fall in visitors and revenues.
Tourist arrivals were up 8 percent to 405,000 in the first 8 months of the year with over 20 percent of arrivals from India.
Arrivals dipped in the first two months after the tsunami when most of the costal tourism infrastructure was destroyed but picked up after that.
However tourists-defined here as any foreign passport holder arriving from abroad who spends at least one night in a local hotel- avoided resort hotels on the beach and inland after the tsunami.
City hotels had average occupancies between 70 to 80 percent this year while resorts