Commonly known among tourists as a heavenly wellness resort that attracts weathered travellers from around the world, Santani is one of Sri Lanka’s biggest success stories. Nested in the picturesque hills of Kandy, 34 kilometres from the hill capital, Santani has made headlines globally, even landing in Time Magazine’s 100 greatest places in the world list. With the country’s economy in crisis, Sri Lanka must rethink how it approaches its industries, including tourism. Founder and CEO of Santani Wellness Kandy, Vickum Nawagamuwage shared his insight into what Sri Lanka is lacking and what it takes to become a truly global competitor in wellness tourism.
What do you believe put Santani on the map as a globally renowned destination?
I would like to say that we pioneered wellness as a concept in Sri Lanka’s tourism, and we have come a long way since our beginning. Being named one of Time Magazine’s 100 greatest places in the world is a privilege. Only 40 hotels made it into the list, of which only seven were from Asia.
We needed something more than good food and service, a nice location and attractive architecture to achieve this. For Santani, it was wellness.
Wellness is a crucial human need in the modern world. People around the world struggle with stress and their mental health. Unhealthy lifestyles, an information-overloaded society and stress can upset the balance in our lives which wellness can restore. There are multiple angles to this concept, and wellness tourism is only one.
We were small-scale entrepreneurs starting from scratch. We did not start from a place of wealth or privilege, and we were competing with the whole world against large global players who have honed their strategies for decades, with more resources than us. It was not long before we realised that if we were to play it at their game, we would lose. My strategy was to change the narrative of wellness through the concept of wellness 2.0.
Isolated from the rest of the world, how does wellness 2.0 translate into drawing people to choose Santani over the global competition?
The preventative care we provide would be the main reason. Our vision of wellness 2.0 is to help restore a person to their best state. Santani’s main focus is on detoxing and cleansing which is essential for preventative care.
A common misconception exists among people that the agrochemicals we consume in our food and the chemicals in the processed food we eat lead to toxins being deposited in our bodies. This is also one of the major selling points of the organic food industry. But ancient Ayurvedic detoxing, and cleansing processes called ‘panchakarma’ existed and have been passed from generation to generation for thousands of years, long before people consumed processed foods or used agrochemicals. Why were they detoxing if the food we eat was the only problem?
The answer is the metabolic waste that builds up in our bodies, which is part of the natural processes in life. As we age, our bodies become less efficient in expelling that waste. Santani offers the body a little help in this process.
Translating our concept into what we deliver has not been easy. Having a clear vision and the hunger to make it a reality is what carried us to where we are.
Without a clear vision, places would make the minimum effort to appeal to the existing demand without contributing any real value, which we often see in the wellness space. Unlike them, we knew exactly what we wanted to deliver from the start and put our brains and effort into making it happen.
Taking on this challenge was not easy. Everyone said that I could not run a hotel, let alone a wellness resort, away from the usual round-trip circuit route and that we would fail. But now, we are the best-selling property in Sri Lanka.
We took a risk based on an evaluation of the market and paid heed to the need for wellness among people. We created a product that suited our value proposition and ensured that it would meet present and future market needs. After figuring that out, it was all smooth sailing.
Being a consultant before establishing Santani, you do not come from a background in medicine or Ayurveda. How were you able to make that leap and create something different?
It is all common sense. Consulting is about using common sense and discovering ‘why?’ When I needed to create a concept that differentiated me from the global competition, I observed all that they were doing and began to ask, ‘why?’ The rest was simply common sense.
Using your expertise as a consultant, could you shed light on any comparison of Santani’s performance compared to the overall tourism industry in Sri Lanka?
booking.com shares statistics and market data about each property’s performance against the overall market. For us, the comparison is between Santani and other hotels in the Kandy district. Santani has about 20 rooms, but Kandy has many hotels which easily have 100-200 rooms each. But over the past 365 days, we have been the biggest revenue generator in the Kandy district for booking.com, using only 20 rooms.
It is a testament to the viability of the product we deliver and the need for it. Santani was the best-performing property in the country in terms of occupancy the previous year, from December to March. What we are doing makes sense.
Do you believe Sri Lanka should pursue wellness tourism more aggressively?
The demand and need both exist. It is an opportunity that Sri Lanka could easily grab onto. There was a lot of effort to do this in the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) under the previous administration. The SLTDA obtained funding from the EU for this, but there has hardly been any movement since the new administration took over.
If Sri Lanka were to adopt the wellness strategy, how lucrative of a niche do you think it would be? What opportunities do you see in Sri Lanka to be a wellness destination?
There is a need among people to move away from curative health care to a more preventative method. This shift in thinking brings valuable opportunities for us. Most countries do not have a base to provide a solution for this, but in Sri Lanka, we have had one for thousands of years.
Three contributing factors exist to create a good wellness resort. The first is to have the science behind it. We do, through Indigenous medicine and Ayurveda, although it is not exclusive to our country anymore.
Having a philosophy of mindfulness is the second factor, especially given the mental health challenges people face in modern times. This is also found in Sri Lanka through Buddhist teachings, where mindfulness is essential.
The third is to have beautiful and relaxing locations, which we have plenty of. Sri Lanka is home to many gorgeous landscapes.
We have all the bases to create great wellness destinations in Sri Lanka to support global needs. It is a low-hanging fruit in Sri Lanka that hardly anyone is capitalising on, making a move, and doing something different. All of this was included in my thinking process when establishing Santani, we decided to try, and we succeeded.
If Sri Lanka were to adopt this transformation, do you think Sri Lanka has the marketing game to position itself right and catch the world’s attention?
Santani has shown Sri Lanka a precedent, but sadly many are still stuck in their old ways. Many play the same old song and do the same dance expecting different results. It just does not work. To get different results, you have to try something different.
What do you think Sri Lanka has to do to change?
There are two things Sri Lanka needs to consider; what we are positioning ourselves as and to whom we are positioning ourselves. Our approach to both of these aspects is flawed. We are still positioning ourselves as a cheap destination and pursuing markets without a clear understanding of how they have evolved.
Even considering the numbers, travellers from Asian nations such as Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Korea, and Japan are some of the biggest travellers to countries such as Thailand. Even for Santani, we welcome the secondmost visitors from the Middle East and Singapore was fifth before the pandemic.
Proximity, if there are frequent direct flights, and spending power are some of the factors that Sri Lanka should consider when creating a strategy. We are still promoting ourselves to Europe, where Sri Lanka hardly has direct flights. We have to think from the consumer’s point of view on how likely they will prefer us to another destination.
I believe Sri Lanka ought to be positioned as an aspirational destination similar to a Rolex being an aspirational watch. This way, all products benefit from improved price points. A room selling at $30 will be able to get $40 and so on.
A person wearing a Casio dreams of wearing a Rolex, but it would be rare to find a Rolex owner dreaming about a Casio. Many people might wear one, but there is hardly any growth and little profit margin. Rolex might have fewer wearers, but many Casio owners want to be Rolex owners, and some do in time. The Maldives has accomplished this. Even an Airbnb room in the Maldives is priced at about USD 200, while we average at about 80. Sri Lanka has more to offer than the Maldives. We simply need the vision to position ourselves correctly.
How do you think we can overcome this handicap? How did Santani overcome it?
It was all about the proper mindset. I did not come to Sri Lanka to create another villa or little hotel. I could have easily lived a good life in the US. I wanted to create a global brand.
That mindset drove us to think and do things differently. We gave attention to detail and creating great brands. Many brands in Sri Lanka are limited to a specific place or thing, preventing them from being taken to a global market. But Santani, for example, can go anywhere.
We are working on multiple projects, even expanding outside of Sri Lanka. Some of our guests are even willing to invest in us.
What would your suggestions be for Sri Lanka to break past its barriers?
Dream big. Sri Lanka needs to break away from the ‘frog in the well’ mentality. Do your research, understand the consumer’s point of view, not your ego and the third is hard work. Hard work always pays.