Sri Lanka needs to address several burning issues in the tourism sector very soon, said the new Chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau Udaya Nanayakkara. Speaking at the launch press conference of the Hotel Show Colombo 2017 at Hotel Ramada on Monday, he said that Sri Lanka needs to break the monopoly of the Colombo airport and look at offering more open sky agreements to attract more airlines to Colombo.
“In addition, Sri Lanka should re-look some of the age-old excise regulations which restricts serving of liquor in hotels. Also, the Excise Department should revisit some of exorbitant fees that are levied in the tourism sector. These are definitely overpriced and have to be revised soon.”
Nanayakkkara also said that the delay in clearing of garbage and negative publicity generated through it along with the rising of the dengue epidemic would have a negative impact for the tourism industry. Infrastructure in the city of Colombo City too has to improve.
He also said that Colombo should have more entertainment and it should be marketed separately as a ‘happening city.’
Nanayakkara said that they are launching several programmes to increase tourist spending per day from US$ 163 to US$ 210 soon.
“Colombo would add a further 3,000 star-class rooms in two years and this will also result in opening up 6,000 new jobs for which quality staff have to be trained.”
Chairman Sri Lanka Institute of Hospitality Management Sunil Dissanayake said that today due to high demand, salaries of hotel sector employees have increased and are almost in par with countries like Dubai.
He said that the HR issue in the industry is now being addressed with both private sector hotels and government sector bodies like National Youth Service Council, National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority producing hotel sector employees.
Hotel Show Colombo 2017 will be held from June 30 to July 2 July at BMICH. The theme of the event, ‘Move Forward – think Green – Maximize Sustainability’ will be reflected throughout the show.
Hotel Show Colombo 2017, the largest hospitality show is organized by the Ceylon Hotel Schools Graduates Association (CHSGA), is backed by the Government and Tourist Authority of Sri Lanka.
Apart from featuring an impressive host of international and local brands, this augmented edition of Hotel Show Colombo 2017 will, for the first time, feature seven vital segments of the hospitality and allied sectors, namely Hotel Show Exhibition, Colombo Food Festival, Bocuse d’Or live cooking competition organized by Bocuse d’Or Sri Lanka, National Barista Championship, Room Stylist Challenge, seminars and hospitality industry business gathering. Seminars will cover three key topics; Financial Sustainability, Reaching the New Age Customers and Importance of Environment Sustainability for Tourism, which will add value to both buyers and sellers.
Also in the pipeline are various events and activities to be staged alongside the Hotel Show, designed to bring industry players in the hotel, restaurant and foodservice sectors closer to buyers.
“The Hotel Show Colombo 2017 will give local exhibiting companies a boost and exposure to regional and international markets by building on their networks and distribution channels. At the same time, visitors will be able to discover the latest technologies and innovations that our home-grown companies provide,” says Sanjeeva Perera, President Ceylon Hotel School Graduates Association.
More than 2,000 pre-registered bookings of exhibitors and 200 hotels as well as event Diamond Sponsors, Suyamas International Pvt. Ltd., King Coil and Gold sponsors Pragmatic International, NITMO, Abdul Rahims and Sperries will showcase their products to over 10,000 visitors comprised mostly of people representing the industry during the three days.
0 comments: