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by Shirajiv Sirimane

The year 2003 will be the year where it recorded the highest number of tourist arrivals and this is mainly because of the peace process, said the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourist Board, Paddy Withana. He was speaking at the Hotel and Catering International Management Association (HCIMA) dinner. He said that the Board is not only looking at number but at the yield as well.

"We have to seek quality tourists and gear ourselves with a quality service and high yielding products,". He also thanked the HCIMA for their role played towards developing the industry.

"Last year we saw the emergence of boutique type hotels in the capacity development of Sri Lanka. We are an island nation but we need not ignore our rich heritage of, culture, civilisation and above all the tradition of living in harmony with nature. It is only now that the world is opening its eyes to the values of nature. We were the first to declare sanctuaries in the world. It is we who have a Bodhivamsa, a 2,300-year-old chronicle tracing the history of a single tree a virgin rain forest which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a mountain, sacred to the four major religions of the world. It is no wonder that ecotourism, adventure tourism and herbal health cures played such a significant role in our recent product development," he said.

The interest in nature is matched by an equal enthusiasm in culture, especially among the domestic tourists who now contribute a substantial income to the travel industry. It is not only such unique monuments like Sigiriya that draws the attention of the international tourist. Even the traditional colonial grudges are forgotten in the new enthusiasm for nostalgic tourism. Old mansions of Dutch and British vintage are joining the Kandyan and low country walauwas to offer a taste of a life bygone.

"So what does the National Tourism industry do in this massive change.

One of the biggest changes of special significance to HCIMA in particular is the new approach to development of skills among the youth of this country using tourism avenues.

The government has recognised tourism as one of the industries that has a high potential to generate employment not only in Sri Lanka but abroad too. Sri Lankan trained hotel managers are in demand everywhere in the world and now it is going to be developed on a planned basis as one of the invisible exports of the country," he said. The different courses would cover not only hotel management but also travel managements, entrepreneurship and craft courses at basic level to assist school- leavers. It will be a totally new institute - National Institute of Travel and Tourism, that will be introduced under the new tourism law which will also pave the way for greater private sector participation in tourism education and training.

"Therefore in this context, we will be more than ever dependent on HCIMA to match our service capability to these new demands here and abroad.

With over 100 branches all over the world, I am sure your organisation can draw on the international expertise and our own experience to deliver the goods as always," he added.

The President to the HCIMA, Eraj Abeywardene said that it was the peace process which placed the tourism industry once again in the right direction. "For the industry it is no peace no-tourists," he said.

HCIMA SRI-LANKA International Group was formed in 1972, with seventeen members of which six were corporate members. Today we have grown to a membership of 220, of which 54 are corporate and six fellow members. During this period the association and its members have been recognised for the winner of the "Best International Group Award", The First Winner of the prestigious HCIMA Award for "Personal Achievement to the International Hospitality Industry" was won by Prof. Chandi Jayawardane and Saman P. Rajapakse FHCIMA, winner of special President's Award for outstanding contribution. "We are also happy that HCIMA Sri Lanka International Group has been admitted to the OPA as a full Corporate Member," he said.

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