Siddhalepa promotes wellness tourism

On the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market, Siddhalepa Ayurveda Hospital, a Sri Lankan hospital providing Ayurveda treatments to ailments, conducted a power breakfast for travel agents and selected media interested in promoting health and wellness in the Middle East region. The event was graced by Alexi Gunasekara, Consul General of Sri Lanka for Dubai and Northern Emirates.

Dr Shehara Rizly

Opening the event, Alexi Gunasekara, Consul General of Sri Lanka for Dubai and Northern Emirates, shared that Sri Lanka is on its way to promote wellness tourism with their pioneer in “ayurveda” holistic authentic wellness partner to provide the Middle East travellers not just a few days of a quick fix but a plan to enjoy a healthy and balanced lifestyle. “Sri Lanka is now open for tourism and takes special interest in promoting wellness tourism, as the learnings of the pandemic for travellers and people across the world was an eye opener that living a healthy lifestyle brings in more happiness and balance in life,” he said.

Dushan Wickremasinghe, Director, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, reiterated that Sri Lanka is attending the Arabian Travel Market to showcase their wide variety of offerings to the multitude of people living in the UAE and the rest of the world. “This year started off with tourists flocking to see the beautiful pearl in the Indian Ocean and one of the key drivers were that Sri Lanka was recognised as a safe country to travel for female travellers,” Wickremasinghe added.

Explaining the objective of the meeting, Asoka Hettigoda, Chairman and Managing Director, Siddhalepa Ayurveda Health Resort, said that their main goal is to ensure that travellers from this region get a taste of the natural and time tested ways of healing by spending at least 7 to 14 days at their purpose built resort in Sri Lanka. Sharing the journey of his ancestors, Hettigoda revealed that the resort on the beach was a way to help travellers discover the ancient methods of wellness and therapeutic treatment, which is slowly rising its head, especially after the pandemic.

Siddhalepa holds its position as the pioneer of ayurveda in Sri Lanka with its signature product “the balm”, which is popular among most travellers. Their services are currently available in Europe, with Germany is a key source market for them and now they have ventured out to the Middle East as they see a great potential. “Our purpose is to educate the travellers from the Middle East region about our specialised Siddhalepa Ayurveda Health Resort, which is purpose built for those who want to lead a balanced and healthy life. Our treatment plans cater to various conditions of the travellers,” Hettigoda said.

“Most often the customer has to make the choice what they prefer, but we go one step further and get a personal consultation with a registered doctor who will recommend the treatment plan best suited for you. Wellness tourism is not a mere word for us but a way of life and we want to provide this same message to our special clients in the GCC region. Our approach is a holistic one, where you will mentally, physically attend to all the requirements to go ahead and lead a better life. In our resort, after the consultation the meals will also be according to the recommendations. It will also consists of specialised meditation and yoga sessions, herbal baths, and massages. Our medicinal herbal garden will allow you to inhale all types of medicinal herbs as you walk in the garden. Sea breeze on one side, herbal garden surrounded by a lovely pool to dip in provides you an experience like no other to cure and heal at the same time,” Hettigoda said.

At the end of the event, a lucky winner was announced who would be treated to a seven-day treatment at the Siddhalepa Ayurveda Health Resort.