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Sri Lanka Tourism

+18
Imperial
God Father
samaritan
Quibit
Teller
Promoney
KavinduTM
manaranga
Gainer
WildBear
celtic tiger
NUINTH
CSE.SAS
ssb
ashlee
Investor99
Rajaraam
windi5
22 posters

Go to page : 1, 2  Next

Go down  Message [Page 1 of 2]

1Sri Lanka Tourism Empty Sri Lanka Tourism Wed Jul 27, 2011 10:13 am

windi5

windi5
Moderator
Moderator

One the Most benefited Sector in the post war era is Tourism. Latest statistics show a considerable improvement of tourists arrivals in this year.

Tourist arrivals into Sri Lanka have seen a sharp increase during the off peak season in CY11, with 381,538 tourists visiting the island in YTD June 2011, +37% over the same period last year. In terms of region of origin, Western Europe has been the largest tourism generator with arrivals totaling 143,454 (37.6% of total arrivals), +32.5% in YTD June 2011.

South Asia is the second largest contributor at 111,570 visitors (29.2% of total arrivals), followed by East Asia (10.8%).remarkably

Monthly occupancy rates boosted by increased visitor arrivals; +22.8ppt in April 2011

The increase in visitor arrivals has boosted occupancy rates, which reached 73.5% in April 2011 vs. 50.7% in April 2010, as shown below. The South coast is estimated to have enjoyed 73.3% occupancy during April 2011 (+23 ppt yoy), while Colombo City recorded 80.1% occupancy in April 2011 (+25 ppt yoy). Our channel checks suggest that overall occupancy rates dropped to 59% in May 2011, which we believe is reflective of the off-peak season.

Positive medium term outlook for existing hotel operators driven by room supply constraints

most properties which have been closed for refurbishment are on track to re-open during the winter season. Given the strong growth in visitor arrivals recorded during the off peak season, we expect hotel operators to see a surge in occupancy rates during the peak season (Nov 2011-Apr 2012).

The Sri Lanka tourism board expects to receive over 700,000 tourists to the country in CY11, implying at least 7% yoy growth.

Looking ahead, the Government of Sri Lanka expects to achieve 2.5 million tourist arrivals by 2016, which would require at least another 15,000 graded rooms to cater to this demand. As such, the Economic Development Ministry aims to double hotel room capacity to 45,000 by 2016 (vs. current capacity of 22,745).  Over the near to medium term, several new hotel properties are set to become operational by end 2012.  These include 1) a joint venture between Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC (AHUN) and Six Senses Resorts & Spas; 2) Brown’s Beach hotel, a 200 roomed 4 star resort, in which AHUN has a 29.46% stake; and a 3) 190 roomed 4 star hotel by John Keells Hotels PLC (KHL) in Beruwala.

Over the longer term, several hoteliers, including international hotel brands, have hotels in the pipeline which we believe should mitigate the constraint in room supply.

As at 30 June 2011, the Ministry of Economic Development had received 126 new hotel projects for consideration, of which 18 projects have received final approval, while four have been rejected.

2Sri Lanka Tourism Empty Re: Sri Lanka Tourism Wed Jul 27, 2011 12:35 pm

Rajaraam


Vice President - Equity Analytics
Vice President - Equity Analytics

Hope we can expect improved results from the hotel sector. AHPL June 30 th Accounts already out and they have shown a significant growth in revenue and profit. Good news windi5, thank you for the post.

Imperial likes this post

3Sri Lanka Tourism Empty Re: Sri Lanka Tourism Wed Jul 27, 2011 2:02 pm

Investor99


Manager - Equity Analytics
Manager - Equity Analytics

windi5 wrote:One the Most benefited Sector in the post war era is Tourism. Latest statistics show a considerable improvement of tourists arrivals in this year.
~
As at 30 June 2011, the Ministry of Economic Development had received 126 new hotel projects for consideration, of which 18 projects have received final approval, while four have been rejected.

The above article indicates the quantity of tourist arrivals and the occupancy rates in hotels. But it does not give any indication of the quality of the tourists that have arrived, are they on budget packages or are they big spenders etc. This is a very important point to consider as big spenders will only generate revenue for hotels and budget packed tourist will not affect the bottom line.

4Sri Lanka Tourism Empty Re: Sri Lanka Tourism Wed Jul 27, 2011 2:35 pm

windi5

windi5
Moderator
Moderator

Western Europe has been the largest tourism generator with arrivals totaling 143,454 (37.6% of total arrivals), +32.5% in YTD June 2011.Is this a good indication?.

5Sri Lanka Tourism Empty Re: Sri Lanka Tourism Thu Jul 28, 2011 10:54 pm

Investor99


Manager - Equity Analytics
Manager - Equity Analytics

All tourists arriving from western countries are not big spenders. Along with the ongoing economic situation in Europe most of them travel in budget package which would be on a full board basis for one week or two weeks. This might not be a good indicator of the spending levels of the tourist who arrive from western countries.

6Sri Lanka Tourism Empty Re: Sri Lanka Tourism Thu Jul 28, 2011 10:59 pm

windi5

windi5
Moderator
Moderator

Something is good than nothing Very Happy

7Sri Lanka Tourism Empty Re: Sri Lanka Tourism Fri Jul 29, 2011 12:22 am

ashlee


Manager - Equity Analytics
Manager - Equity Analytics

Some of the hotels are still closed down for renovation.. Therfore good performance of the sector in the near future is somewhat doubtful.. But this will be one of the most lucrative sectoes in the time to come for sure..

8Sri Lanka Tourism Empty Sri Lanka Tourism Fri Jul 29, 2011 7:25 am

windi5

windi5
Moderator
Moderator

Sri Lanka has formally approved a five year strategy to develop the tourism sector including domestic tourism as arrivals go up after a 30-year war, the government's information office said.

The cabinet of ministers had approved the plan submitted by the ministry of economic development,headed by minister Basil Rajapaksa. The strategy addresses capacity and manpower requirements, infrastructure development, improving service standards, marketing and promotions, public relations, tourist safety and domestic tourism.
It is estimated that the sector can create 500,000 direct and indirect job opportunities by 2016, the information office said without elaborating. I love you

9Sri Lanka Tourism Empty Re: Sri Lanka Tourism Fri Jul 29, 2011 8:54 am

ssb

ssb
Manager - Equity Analytics
Manager - Equity Analytics

lets hope this isn't a another publicity stunt by government
what your pics on hotels ???
low in price ,but be a winner in next 5 years
(plan for long term investment Smile)

CSE.SAS

CSE.SAS
Global Moderator

Post-war, tourism has become one of Sri Lanka’s biggest foreign exchange-earners with an average annual revenue of US$ 1 billion. The number of tourist arrivals in 2012 exceeded 1.5 million, while in January 2013 the number of visitors was 97,411.

It is projected that Sri Lanka will earn an annual income of US$ 3 billion by 2016. The government has set a target of attracting 2.5 million high spending tourists by that year.

In keeping with this trend, Sri Lanka’s tourism authorities launched a three-day mega promotional campaign titled "Get Sri Lanken’ed", which kicked off in style in Mumbai on Friday. It was followed by a media conference at the Taj Lands End Hotel - Salcette, Mumbai.

The press conference was the first of a series of events lined up under the "Get SriLankan’ed" promotional campaign of Sri Lanka Tourism implemented with the aim of positioning Sri Lanka as a most sought-after travel destination in emerging markets of the world.

In 2010 Sri Lanka was ranked first in the "31 Places to go in 2010" published by the New York.

The campaign - "Get Sri Lanken’ed" - was initiated on President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s guidance in accordance with the Mahinda Chinthana Vision. The objective of developing a sustainable Sri Lankan tourism industry inspired this campaign organized jointly by the public and private sectors.

During the press conference in Mumbai, over 120 high profile journalists from the print and electronic media were briefed on the campaign’s objectives and the nature of events scheduled. The events which began on Friday will continue in Mumbai till May 20. The event was graced with the traditional Sri Lankan dance performances of the Western province dance troupe which received a resounding applause.

Addressing the gathering, Economic Development Deputy Minister, Muthu Sivalingam noted that Sri Lanka and India have many similarities as Asian nations and the longstanding relationship as close neighbors create immense opportunities for both countries to share common interests, values and develop socio-economic ties with each other.

Sri Lanka Tourism Chairman, Bhashwara Gunarathna explained the rationale behind launching the "Get Sri Lanken’ed" campaign in India and how Sri Lanka Tourism plans to achieve maximum influx of tourists from the Indian market.

He said Sri Lanka’s target is to attract 400,000 Indian tourists by 2016 thus helping to reach the goal of 2.5 million arrivals by year 2016.
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=79366

11Sri Lanka Tourism Empty Re: Sri Lanka Tourism Sun May 19, 2013 12:32 am

NUINTH


Senior Equity Analytic
Senior Equity Analytic

Thanks CSE.SAS for the article.

If country PESTEL factors doing well, it will be a advantage to the sector. Then the industry will move to new step. Presently most of companies are investing aggressively in this sector as better future . I guess, better to keep an eye in this sector as long term investment.

what do you think guys....? Thanks in advance.

Disclose : I'm holding few thousand of Reef.w19, CITK, CITW as a lonterm & hope to buy few SERV & GHLL or TAJ.

12Sri Lanka Tourism Empty Re: Sri Lanka Tourism Sun May 19, 2013 4:40 am

celtic tiger


Senior Manager - Equity Analytics
Senior Manager - Equity Analytics

NUINTH wrote:Thanks CSE.SAS for the article.

If country PESTEL factors doing well, it will be a advantage to the sector. Then the industry will move to new step. Presently most of companies are investing aggressively in this sector as better future . I guess, better to keep an eye in this sector as long term investment.

what do you think guys....? Thanks in advance.

Disclose : I'm holding few thousand of Reef.w19, CITK, CITW as a lonterm & hope to buy few SERV & GHLL or TAJ.

silent giant in this sector is KHL, If you are thinking long term khl is a good investment but at the moment 13.5 may be bit price for me.

13Sri Lanka Tourism Empty Re: Sri Lanka Tourism Sun May 19, 2013 9:04 am

WildBear


Assistant Vice President - Equity Analytics
Assistant Vice President - Equity Analytics

It seems that we may miss the 2.5 million arrivals in 2016 but will comfortably make the earning target of 2.5 Billion Dollars. We might take some time probably till 2018 to accommodate 2.5 million tourists sue to inadequate room capacity.

Gainer

Gainer
Associate Director - Equity Analytics
Associate Director - Equity Analytics

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe last week declared that the new Government attached the highest importance to tourism and stressed the need to lure more upmarket tourists, especially from the West, to the country.

“We attach the highest importance to the tourist industry. We are looking at tourism as a major earner of foreign exchange and employment generation,” the Premier said during a ceremony to welcome Minor Hotels Group Chairman and CEO William E. Heinecke, who travelled to the country on the invitation of Hemas Holdings Plc.
“We are selling the destination too cheap hence we must increase the yield by drawing more upmarket tourists apart from catering to budget tourists,” said the Prime Minister, adding that what Minor and Hemas were doing via setting up luxury resorts would help Sri Lanka go upmarket.
Wickremesinghe also said that Sri Lanka must improve its ties with the West and emphasised that Europe must be Sri Lanka’s main source of tourism.
“I am not suggesting we should give up China or India. However, my experience is that wherever Europeans visit, the Chinese and Indians follow suit,” the Premier added.
He said that the Government was looking at all aspects of tourism including ensuring more activities. “In many parts of the country after 7:00 p.m. there is nothing to do for tourists. Therefore we must have entertainment activities to keep tourists occupied. We are also looking at setting up a new hotel school. Our overall policy will be announced after the general elections and there will be some surprises,” the Prime Minister revealed.
He said the Galle Literary Festival would be held once again whilst a Military Tattoo and a Biriyani festival were also on the cards.

http://www.ft.lk/2015/05/05/govt-attaches-highest-importance-to-tourism-ranil/

15Sri Lanka Tourism Empty Re: Sri Lanka Tourism Tue May 05, 2015 1:19 pm

Gainer

Gainer
Associate Director - Equity Analytics
Associate Director - Equity Analytics

Minor Hotel Group Chief meets Prime Minister Wickremesinghe

May 1, 2015 · Leave a Comment

Minor Hotel Group (MHG), a hotel owner, operator and investor, with a portfolio of 133 hotels and resorts in 22 countries, on Wednesday reiterated its growing commitment in Sri Lanka in partnership with Hemas Holdings Plc. MHG Chairman and CEO William E. Heinecke was in town this week to attend a ceremony to announce its plans for Sri Lanka with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe present as the event’s Chief Guest. Two new properties are coming up in Tangalle and Kalutara under Minor’s flagship Anantara brand. It already has two existing properties under the Avani brand which debuted out of Sri Lanka in Kalutara and Bentota. Seen here are Prime Minister Wickremesinghe along with MHG Chairman and CEO Heincke (left) and Hemas Holdings Plc Director Abbas Esufally at the ceremony
http://www.ft.lk/2015/05/01/minor-hotel-group-chief-meets-prime-minister-wickremesinghe/

16Sri Lanka Tourism Empty Re: Sri Lanka Tourism Tue May 05, 2015 1:22 pm

Gainer

Gainer
Associate Director - Equity Analytics
Associate Director - Equity Analytics

Global giant Minor renews commitment to Sri Lanka tourism

May 5, 2015

Two luxury hotels with $ 100 m investment to open in July and early next year in partnership with Hemas Holdings

Global leisure giant Minor Hotel Group (MHG) last week renewed its commitment to further develop Sri Lanka’s tourism with two luxury resorts with an investment of $ 100 million set to open in July this year and January next year in partnership with Hemas Holdings Plc.
The growing confidence in Sri Lanka was reiterated by Minor Chairman and CEO William E. Heinecke, who arrived here in his private jet last week.
Speaking at a ceremony to celebrate the success of the partnership between Minor and Hemas with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe present as the Chief Guest, Heinecke said he looked forward to the development of the tourism industry in Sri Lanka.
Headquartered in Thailand, the Minor Hotel Group is a hotel owner, operator and investor, with a portfolio of 133 hotels and resorts in 22 countries.
Under its flagship luxury brand Anantara, two resorts – Anantara Tangalle Peace Heaven and another resort planned for Kalutara – are slated to be opened in July this year and January next year respectively.
“It has been a personal aspiration of mine to see the luxury Anantara brand in Sri Lanka and I am delighted that it is coming to fruition soon,” Heinecke said. This brand has been in the Maldives for many years.
“We look forward to the development of the tourism industry in Sri Lanka and I am confident that the world-class Anantara properties will set the standard in luxury tourism in Sri Lanka. We believe in the people of Sri Lanka and we are committed to a long-term partnership for the successful development of the tourism sector which we see as a driver for Sri Lanka as it has been for Thailand,” the Minor Chief emphasised.
Heinecke also congratulated the new Government and noted that it was a pleasure to see positive changes in the country.
“Sri Lanka is one of the most beautiful sought-after destinations in the world. We are honoured to be part of Sri Lanka tourism. We have been extremely confident that Sri Lanka is a key driver for Minor Group’s development plans,” he added.
Following a partnership established in 2006, Minor and Hemas in 2011 launched the Avani brand with a resort in Bentota in 2011 followed by another one in Kalutara in 2012. Today the Avani brand has 13 properties worldwide.
Hemas Holdings Director Abbas Esuflaly said Hemas forged a strategic partnership about 10 years ago with Minor, taking an equity stake in Hemas Holdings subsidiary Serendib Hotels Plc. He said the world-class hotels coming under the Anantara brand would be iconic, with the Tangalle resort already winning global praise as one of the most eagerly looked after new buildings.
“The new Government’s focus on tourism has given us the impetus to invest further in the sector. More hotels are being contemplated and we look forward to contributing further to the sustainable development of the tourism industry,” Esufally added.

http://www.ft.lk/2015/05/05/global-giant-minor-renews-commitment-to-sri-lanka-tourism/

17Sri Lanka Tourism Empty Re: Sri Lanka Tourism Tue May 05, 2015 1:23 pm

Gainer

Gainer
Associate Director - Equity Analytics
Associate Director - Equity Analytics

Next target Hotel sector alien cheers

18Sri Lanka Tourism Empty Re: Sri Lanka Tourism Tue May 05, 2015 5:57 pm

manaranga


Stock Analytic
Stock Analytic

I think no leader in sri lanka has a clear vision to develop manufacturing sector which is the hart of any developed country.

KavinduTM

KavinduTM
Senior Vice President - Equity Analytics
Senior Vice President - Equity Analytics

I love you

http://www.colombopage.com/archive_20A/Jan26_1580025294CH.php

20Sri Lanka Tourism Empty Re: Sri Lanka Tourism Mon Jan 27, 2020 4:57 pm

Promoney


Senior Manager - Equity Analytics
Senior Manager - Equity Analytics

I like the new tourism ministers ambitious drive

21Sri Lanka Tourism Empty Re: Sri Lanka Tourism Tue Jan 28, 2020 8:38 am

KavinduTM

KavinduTM
Senior Vice President - Equity Analytics
Senior Vice President - Equity Analytics

Promoney wrote:I like the new tourism ministers ambitious drive

Yeah we can expect some considerable growth of tourism. I love you

22Sri Lanka Tourism Empty Hotel bookings Cancel due to fear Tue Jan 28, 2020 12:07 pm

Teller

Teller
Moderator
Moderator

Most of the hotels and flight bookings were cancelled due to travel warning as per booking.com, this may be the 2nd highest impact for sri lankan hotels after APR, Attack

23Sri Lanka Tourism Empty Re: Sri Lanka Tourism Tue Jan 28, 2020 12:11 pm

Teller

Teller
Moderator
Moderator

1 infected patient found, she has visited through below route map
please check every one if someone has been to the following places during the following dates because a patient with corona virus has been there:
D1
19.Jan

Hotel: Gateway Airport Garden - BB

D2
20.Jan Negambo to Sigriya
Tropical Village
Dinner:Hotel Sigiriya Jungles- HB

D3
21.Jan Sigiriya to Kandy
Isiwara Lunch:Isiwara Garden
Dinner: Hotel Amaya Hills (Deluxe room)-HB,

D4
22. Jan Kandy to Nuwara eliya
Breakfast:Hotel
lunch:Oak Ray Kandy
Peradeniya to Gampola
Lunch: Oak Ray Kandy
Dinner:Hotel Araliya Green Hills-HB,

D5
23.Jan
Nuwara eliya to Southwest beach-
Breakfast:Hotel


Blue Field
Alloy
Lunch:Alloy



Dinner:Hotel


Hotel: RIU Ahungalla-AI,

D6
24. Jan
Lunch:Ramprt
Dinner:Hotel: RIU Ahungalla

24Sri Lanka Tourism Empty Re: Sri Lanka Tourism Thu Apr 16, 2020 9:51 pm

Quibit


Senior Vice President - Equity Analytics
Senior Vice President - Equity Analytics

This would be the most affected sector in Sri Lanka. Its not too late to get out!

WTTC expects a dip of about 25 percent or more in tourism earnings, with at least 50 million job losses worldwide, while Asia will account for about 30 million out of this

After the April 2019 terrorist attack in Sri Lanka, the Market Development Facility (MDF), an Australian multi-country initiative, launched a series of informative seminars across the country to help the smaller scale hotel companies understand how they could manage the crisis. These programmes were very well received by the SMEs.

Now, with the COVID-19 crisis affecting the industry in a catastrophic manner, there have been several requests for such programmes to be conducted again to help the industry.

Being the coordinator who structured and designed these programmes for MDF, I am not really sure how to respond to this gigantic crisis. It is much more complex and all encompassing, since it’s a global issue, involving every aspect of the tourism and hospitality value chain.

Regardless of the complexity and the extent of the disaster, it may be worthwhile to think through how the Sri Lankan Tourism industry will evolve in the months to come.

Current status of tourism industry
When I penned my thoughts in early March 2020 in an article titled - ‘Tourism: ‘Mother of all crises’ around the corner?’, I did not even dream that things would become this serious.  Airlines the world over have since stopped operating, airports are shut, hotels are closed, staff sent off. In short, tourism the world over has virtually grounded to a halt. I was wrong. This is not the ‘Mother of all crises’…but the ‘Mother and Grand Mother of all crises’!
So yes, it is a doom and gloom scenario we have now, inundated from every side, every minute, by every possible medium, about this COVID-19 issue. The numbers keep increasing faster than a taxi meter.

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) expects a dip of about 25 percent or more in tourism earnings, with at least 50 million job losses worldwide, while Asia will account for about 30 million out of this.

The UN secretary general has said that this crisis is ‘the most challenging crisis we have faced since the Second World War’  

So what do we in the Sri Lankan tourism industry do? Where do we go from here?

Without resorting to some crystal ball gazing, (which actually may be the most appropriate thing to do under the circumstances !) here are some thoughts on how  the  tourism scenario will pan out.

Travel will bounce back- Man’s insatiable thirst to explore and experience new things will always prevail over all else. For almost 8-10 consecutive years, Tourism could not have showed such consistent worldwide growth of 4.5-5 percent amidst so many intervening cries, if this were not so. More affluence, as the world’s emerging middle class grows rapidly, and proliferation of internet connectivity will fuel this growth in the future as well. So once this pandemic is over, I think there will be actually a pent up demand to travel. But when is the million dollar question?

Tourism will be relatively slow in returning to normalcy- While certainly people will start travelling once the immediate threat subsides, and airline connectivity and airports start functioning, for tourism to really come back to the heady  ‘pre corona’ levels. It will take  a long time. For sure it will limp along on ‘bumpy road on 2nd gear’, but to reach its full potential, there will have to be a clear international ‘all clear’ sounded.  

And an ‘international all clear’ will come, only once we have an effective vaccine in our hands, easily accessible to people all over the world. And that, the experts say, is at least 12-16 months away. So the real robust tourism, is some time away.

Speed of recovery is out of our hands- Usually tourism is a ‘front- end industry’. We are the first to get hit, but we are also the first to rise up. In June 2009, the very next month after the end of the civil strife in Sri Lanka, occupancies showed dramatic increases.

However all previous crises have been more or less within our ‘purview’, where we could take strategic initiatives on our own, to mitigate the crisis. This time it is radically different, because this is worldwide crisis, (the likes of which we have not seen before in our lifetime) which is affecting the whole value and supply chains of tourism. Therefore the whole world will have to come to some equilibrium recovery stage before tourism can fully recover, unlike other industries. (e. g exports can continue on a selective basis  since there are cargo operations still ongoing )

Hotel plant will undergo significant changes – All hotels in the country will suffer huge financial loses, and those who cannot survive will go under. The name of the game now is pure survival, with zero cash inputs.  So, there will be sales, and buy outs of hotels, mergers and acquisitions, and a substantial re-alignment of the hotel product in the country.

According to the SLTDA there were 382 hotel projects which had been approved for construction, which would have added a further 19,218 rooms to the stock. Post Covid19, many of these projects may not see the light of day (which in my mind is a good thing, as there could have been an oversupply of rooms in the market)
Who will survive? Who will crash? - I believe that the mid-to lower range accommodation providers with 20-80 rooms will be the most badly hit. The bigger chains will certainly have the ‘staying power’ to buckle down for a long wait.

The really small, ‘mom-and-pop’ home stay operators will also survive. These small timers have very little overheads, and most often, the service staff is family members or relatives. So they will not have issues of layoffs and retrenchment, and their financial commitments towards capital repayments, would also be minimal, for the usual 3-4 rooms in their own home.

It is the slightly larger, single owner accommodation providers who would be the casualties. Most often their investment would be relatively large, and quite a few of them would have just ‘jumped on the tourism bandwagon’ during happier times, without any product innovation or differentiation. Therefore many of such mid to low range hotels will succumb, without cash to service their loans. (Moratoriums and deferments are all good, but they are not write-offs. All these accumulated dues will have to be eventually paid off).

Where will the demand be? – Once the crisis blows over, and travellers slowly start venturing out, what hotel products would be in demand first?
After a crisis, it is seen that the ‘first movers’ are the more risk- taking, younger people. They are by nature looking for cheaper offerings, but at the same time are more adventurous and prefer authentic ‘back-to-basic’ experiences. (In Australia, when the lockdown was announced, all the law breakers were the younger folk, who thronged the beaches in defiance of the lockdown).

So quite clearly the initial demand would be for the lower end, B&B guest houses and home stays, which this segment patronises, and not really the higher end establishments.

So what can the formal hotel sector do? – Smart hotel management operators will use this down time to re think and plan out new strategies. They can review all procedures and streamline to give a better customer service, innovate and create new value-added product and service offerings, motivate, train and upskill staff (when physically able ), embark on introducing a proper sustainable consumption regime etc.

With the day-to-day ‘firefighting’ operations that go on in hotels, it is always a challenge for management to find the time to engage in strategic thinking and planning. Hence this prolonged lull in operations is an ideal time to ‘look inwards’ and review all operations.

Operations will have to re-focus on health, safety & cleanliness - As tourism starts to recover, and the main stream interest gains momentum, tourists are necessarily going to be a lot more cautious about what they do and where they go. They will need to feel and see actual physical changes made, to make travel safer.

There will be the need to focus much more on cleanliness and health aspects, with regular monitoring of how the environment is cleaned, and that should be communicated clearly to guests.  This will call for more stringent ‘visible measures’ to show the effort made to keep the product and service clean. So we may see more hand sanitizers in hotels, gloves, disinfecting procedures etc.

The end result is to reassure tourists that the establishment is doing its utmost to keep them safe during their holiday
On-line, working from home will not work- In the present environment there is great enthusiasm by companies to rush to embrace on line business activities thru Zoom, MS Teams, Webinars etc. (you name it!)
Tourism and hospitality is ‘high-touch’ business. So certainly while some form of on- line business management activity can be introduced, it can never replace the
human touch.

Not only in customer service, but also in operations management, does actual physical presence become a necessity, especially in the hotel trade. After years of managing hotels, my experience is that no amount of reports, charts and video conferencing can replace the good old MBWO (Management –By-Walking- Around).  

A new start for tourism in a more responsible manner? –Tourism has been labelled as one of the industries that cause serious damage to the environment and contributes to global warming. There certainly some truth in this.

Our hotels are energy guzzlers, we seek out the most pristine of environments for tourism development and contribute a large amount  of waste and pollution in general. In the post war rush to develop and play catch up for the lost years, we have not been responsible, nor been environmentally sustainable. Copa Cabana style high rise slivers of concrete monstrosities calling themselves hotels have sprung up on our pristine beaches. We have exploited our natural assets and wild life in the name of tourism to almost a point of no return, by overcrowding and over-visitation. We have pursued quantity over quality.

Hence this is an opportune moment to wipe the slate clean and start a fresh, with proper guidelines and rules for responsible development of the tourism product offering. The best would be for all stakeholders to come together and self-regulate according to pre-determined guidelines. It will not be difficult to draw up ( say)  ten  guidelines for sustainable operations, in travel and  hotel operations, if all stakeholders would take an oath to follow them.

Like what we are seeing around the world, given time the environment will heal. And we in tourism, who depend so much on Sri Lanka’s natural beauty for our promotions, must help nurture and protect this healing process.

Communication with customers –While it would be futile to commence any promotional programmes for hotels at this juncture, it is certainly very important to communicate to guests, both past and potential. Factual and credible updates about what the situation is in Sri Lanka, good stories and video clips reminding everyone about the pristine beauty of the country will all be very useful.

Embarking on a deep dive into the available customer data base, with particular emphasis on repeat guests, during this period would important.  Different digital communications can be planned for different segments, with even some interactive webinars and virtual tours of interesting sights for select guests.

The whole emphasis should be to keep reminding potential customers that ‘we are very much alive and kicking here’, and that we will be ready to welcome them back as soon as possible. “Stay home be safe for now. When you come back, pristine  Sri Lanka will await to welcome you”

(The writer is an ex-THASL President and can be reached via srilal.mith
@gmail.com)

samaritan


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PRESIDENT GR SUCCEEDS DOING IT HIS WAY!



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t8kAbUg4t4


GRID ( Global Responsive to Infectious Diseases) index has ranked Sri Lanka in top 10 countries handling CORVID-19 EFFECTIVELY! 
https://stratnewsglobal.com/sl-ranked-9th-in-global-response-to-infectious-diseases-grid-index/

No wonder RW was relaxed and enjoyed watching the movie 'Hotel mumbai'! and asking the interviewer from GRAVITAS to recommend some hindi movies, Oh what a time for jokes & humour with a glass of 'Chivas' in the hand. :D

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