Sun Siyam Pasikudah, the boutique luxury resort that earned the Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Best of the Best award in 2025 and was named the Best Global Hotel Design winner at the Homes & Gardens Design Awards 2025, celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8, with a full programme of experiences designed to make every woman feel genuinely seen and celebrated.
Under the theme ‘Eat, Pray & Love’ and dressed in the resort’s signature palette of white, beige and gold, the day unfolded as a seamless journey from morning to midnight. Guests started with the Queen’s Kitchen cooking demonstration at 10:00 AM, where the resort’s chef prepared traditional Sri Lankan dishes in an intimate, hands-on setting.
Those who shared the experience on Instagram walked away with a complimentary mocktail, a small but appreciated gesture that set the tone for a day that was as warm as it was elegant.
“This day was never just about offering a discount or putting on an event,” said Arshed Refai, General Manager of Sun Siyam Pasikudah. “We wanted every woman who was with us, whether as a guest or as a colleague, to feel that this place was made for her. The programme was designed to flow naturally from morning to night, with something genuinely meaningful at every stage. We are also honored to have our colleagues, many of them coming from communities in the East where opportunities for women in professional careers are still limited. What they bring to this resort every single day, the warmth, the dedication, the pride in their work, is what makes Sun Siyam Pasikudah the experience it is.”
Beyond the guest-facing celebration, the day also turned inward. Women account for more than half of Sri Lanka’s population, yet their representation in the country’s hospitality workforce remains significantly below ten per cent, a stark contrast to global averages where women make up over half of the sector’s workforce.
Sun Siyam Pasikudah has been working steadily to address this, actively recruiting women from surrounding communities in the Eastern Province, providing structured training and mentorship, and building a working environment where safety and professional growth are not negotiables.
Sun Siyam Pasikudah’s Women’s Day celebrations form part of a broader ethos that runs through the Sun Siyam Group, one that believes genuine hospitality starts with the people who deliver it. As the resort continues to grow in international recognition, so too does its sense of responsibility to the communities that make that recognition possible.
Source: Daily News
