Government praised for making travel sector a priority
Vishnu Vardhan, Research Analyst, Euromonitor International
An exhaustive and independent report into Sri Lanka’s tourism prospects by one of the world’s leading providers of global business intelligence, has confirmed that the Indian Ocean island currently offers some of the region’s best opportunities for investment.
The report by Euromonitor International is not uncritical: infrastructure still needs to be improved; airport capacity is lagging behind demand and telecom connectivity is still a problem.
But the report goes on to say that these issues are being addressed by a Sri Lankan government that has realised the golden opportunity that tourism offers the island as it emerges from years of conflict.
The findings will provide useful background for discussion at the inaugural Asia Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference (AHTIC) in Colombo in November, organised by Bench Events.
The author of the report, Vishnu Vardhan, research analyst at Euromonitor, said: “The world is slowing down economically. People are looking for economical places to travel, so there’s an interest in inexpensive destinations. Sri Lanka is one of them. Growth in the sector was by 17 per cent in 2014-15 in terms of the number of inbound arrivals. Its lower cost is a main driver of visitor growth.”
Sri Lanka’s concentration on developing the luxury hotel market is highlighted by Euromonitor. Curently there is demand for budget hotels, but the number of travellers from Western Europe and North America is seeing double-digit growth and they tend to stay in luxury properties.
With arrivals in 2015 of 1.8m, expected to reach 2.6m by 2020, transport is a key issue. Road transport is good, but, the report points out, it will be put under considerable strain as visitor numbers grow, and the railways need urgent improvement to take some of the burden.
Colombo airport is a bottleneck, already operating above capacity, according to the report. It says expansion plans are due to be completed in 2020, more than doubling capacity. And fast road and rail links to the capital are in hand.
Euromonitor says the tax benefits on offer are good for tourism investment, and the Government’s planned tourism zones are a sensible way forward. But infrastructure improvements are a priority, not just in transport, but also in connectivity: electronic payment in some hotels is still lacking.
Vishnu Vardhan said: “This is a problem across many South Asian countries. But it’s also a region that is growing economically so people have higher disposable income, and as people become more affluent, there’s a trend towards more affluent hotel properties. More people will demand to book online.” The increasing presence in the region of many of the big hotel chains, bears this out.
AHTIC will bring international leaders of the hospitality industry to Sri Lanka. It will be a forum for three days of high-level discussion from across the region – speeches by prominent insiders, a unique chance to hear political leaders’ views first-hand, and opportunities to network with entrepreneurs and other successful individuals, including a delegation of substantial investors from China, ranging from the Presidents of Dosun Hotel Group and Phoenix Global Investment to the Secretary-general of China Real Estate Association Financing Committee.
A demonstration of the growing co-operation between the public and private sectors is the opening AHTIC networking reception in Colombo hosted by the President of Sri Lanka, H.E. Maithripala Sirisena, the conference patron. His prime minister, as well as the tourism minister, will give the opening speeches as the conference gets under way the following day.
AHTIC will take place, November 27 – 29, 2016, at the Hilton Colombo, Sri Lanka.
For the full programme visit: www.asia-conference.com/programme
ENDS
About AHTIC
Organiser: Bench Events, Co-organiser and Founder Sponsor: Sri Lanka Tourism Club, Host Partners: Ministry of Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs of Sri Lanka; Presidential Secretariat Sri Lanka; BOI Sri Lanka; Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority and Urban Development Authority Sri Lanka, Strategic Partner: JLL, Platinum Sponsor: JA Resorts & Hotels, Gold Sponsor: C G Hotels & Resorts and Dusit International, Official Airline Partner: SriLankan Airlines, Supporters: The Centre of Asia Hotel Forum and Pacific Asia Travel Association, Programme endorsed by: The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka.
About Bench Events
Global event organiser Bench Events has a long track record of delivering multiple premium hotel investment conferences and forums across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Market leading annual conferences include the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (AHIC) in Dubai, now in its 13th year, the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) the new Asia Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference (AHTIC), The Summit in London and the Latin American Hotel & Tourism Investment Conferences (SAHIC).
Bench Events’ extensive portfolio also includes the Global Restaurant Investment Forum (GRIF) in Dubai and AviaDev, designed to promote the future air connectivity in Africa.
Bench Events’ mission is enabling prosperity by facilitating growth, networking, and thought leadership in the hospitality industry worldwide.
www.benchevents.com
About Euromonitor International
Euromonitor International is the world’s leading provider of global business intelligence and strategic market analysis. Its global market research database, Passport, provides statistics, analysis, reports and breaking news on industries, countries and consumers. Euromonitor is headquartered in London, with offices in Chicago, Singapore, Shanghai, Vilnius, São Paulo, Santiago, Dubai, Cape Town, Tokyo, Sydney and Bangalore.
About Sri Lanka Tourism Club
Sri Lanka Tourism Club’s (SLTC) objective is to brand Sri Lanka as an outstanding tourist destination and aim to promote its unique life style, nature, wonders, attractions, heritage and cultures to develop both domestic and international tourism and enhance Sri Lanka’s share of the market for international meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions. Its ultimate objective is to increase the number of foreign tourists to Sri Lanka, extend the average length of their stay and finally to increase the national tourism revenue.
Contacts
For further information and high resolution images, please contact:
– David Tarsh, Tarsh Consulting, Email: David@Tarsh.com, Tel: +44 (0) 20 7602 5262, Cell: +44 (0) 7770 816 070.
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