Grand Oriental Hotel on York Street recently underwent a restoration under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s manifesto “Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour” that pledges to restructure underutilised and underperforming state institutions. Smither, who was also responsible for some of Colombo’s most beautiful colonial remnants, including the National Museum of Colombo, Colombo General Hospital, and the old Colombo Town Hall. Being the first European-owned hotel in the East, GOH, was reputed worldwide for its plush services, becoming the choice of many illustrious patrons. Restoration and heritage squareUnder “Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour”, the Government is set to facilitate wide-ranging tourism development programmes with the objective of increasing annual tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka. Mohideen stated that the restructuring of GOH is the first step in creating a heritage square in Colombo, and this new “heritage square” aims to increase the number of tourist stays in Colombo city.

Source: The Nation April 03, 2021 22:52 UTC