Nepal’s first billionaire as featured Forbes, Dr Binod Chaudhary, was presented with the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award by HOTELIVATE at the THINC Conference in Colombo.
This is in recognition of his two decade journey in Sri Lanka and for paving the way for entrepreneurs around the world to emulate his unorthodox formula for success, Chaudhary today is a significant regional player in the hospitality industry.
THINC, the Tourism, Hotel Investment and Networking Conference also took cognizance of the fact that Chaudhary plans on having over 200 hotels within his ever expanding portfolio within the next two to three years and his infinite optimism in expanding in Sri Lanka at a time when a raging civil war signaled a mass exodus of businesses and terrified potential investors away from the country.
Chaudhary reiterated that as Chairman of CG Corp Global he was very confident that Sri Lanka had the potential and hence investing in this country was a given.
“There was indeed an economic recession. The economy was in the doldrums and the tourism sector specifically faced permeating catastrophic consequences. Foreign capital was non-existent and Sri Lankans themselves were cautious about investing in their home turf.”
It was five star hotel, the Taj Samudra Colombo that first caught his eye and in 2001, joining hands with IHCL, CG Hospitality which is CG Corp’s hospitality arm, made his first major investment into the hospitality industry globally.
The next step was to partner Jetwing Hotels. Forming Jetwing Zinc Journey, a JV between CG Hospitality and Jetwing Hotels, he added Jetwing Vil Uyana Sigiriya and Jetwing Sea Negombo into its portfolio.
Under the Ekho Zinc Journey banner, the Sigiriya, Weligama and Ella properties have gained a tropical fillip through its renovation process. Kithulgala and Belihuloya will be next in this portfolio.
Chaudhary is very appreciative of the role played by Chairman of CG Hospitality Lanka Tilak de Zoysa for continuing to spearhead the Company’s journey onwards and upwards.
He is also proud of his partnership with IHCL, Jetwing Chairman Hiran Cooray, Chairman of the Galle Face Hotel Group Sanjeev Gardiner and Group MD of Sunshine Holdings Vish Govindasamy who’ve been towers of strength in Chaudhary’s tourism journey in Sri Lanka.
With the Taj Samudra being the first investment into the hospitality sector for CG Hospitality, the Group has a formidable portfolio of 125 hotels in 12 countries, 90 destinations and 6500 keys.
Under its various brands and categories, it brings cutting edge concepts and redefines standards across all tourism frontiers in hotels, resorts, residences and spas across Asia, Middle East and Africa. Joining hands with the Taj Group, CG Hospitality will soon provide unparalleled jungle experiences in Central India and Nepal and luxury offerings in Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
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