No politics in tourism sector - Anura

by Anjana Gamage

The Minister of Industry, Investment Promotion and Tourism Anura Bandaranaike said yesterday that politics would not stand in the way of tourism development.

"I have never brought up politics into the tourism industry. My mission is only providing opportunities based on talent. I will never ask for party politics or which party they belong to. If there is enough talent it will be the main qualification according to my policy," Minister Bandaranaike told newly qualified diploma holders of the Ceylon Hotel School (CHS) yesterday. Fifty four students of the CHS passed out after completing their full diploma programme.

Minister Bandaranaike said: "Politicians will come and go. But you (hotel school graduates) will stay on. More than 1,500 students get training at the CHS annually." Minister recalled that his late mother, the world's first woman Prime Minister Madam Sirimavo Bandaranaike set up the first hotel school in the country.

"Sri Lanka is tourism and tourism is Sri Lanka - this is the main promotional theme that we have introduced. We have a target of achieving one million tourist arrivals in 2010. At present, Indians are the highest tourist arrivals to the country and we expected that Chinese arrivals too may go up with the newly introduced direct airlink in between Colombo and Beijing as well. We plan to introduce direct airlink to Shanghai as well," he said.

Chairman of Sri Lanka Tourist Board (SLTB), Udaya Nanayakkara delivering the welcome speech said that the intake of the CHS has been doubled from this year.

"With the increase of tourist arrivals, we need more trained staff, therefore we have increased the lecturers' force to 34. We now conduct all four basic level courses at the satellite schools in Kandy, Matara, Bandarawela and Anuradhapura.

With the second intake of 2005, we are planning to provide nearly 40 scholarships to under-privileged students as well," he said. Kamal Hapuwatta, a graduate of the CHS who has a wide experience in the hotel industry was appointed as the principal of the CHS from July 18. The trophy for the most outstanding graduate for the year 2004 was presented to D.K.M. Akalanka by the Minister Bandaranaike.

Other relevant trophies and basic level diploma awards were presented to the graduates by the Deputy Minister of Tourism Faisz Musthapa, SLTB Chairman Udaya Nanayakkara, Secretary to the Ministry of Tourism Dr. P. Ramanujam, Additional Secretary George Micheal and Director General of the SLTB S. Kalaiselavm.

Annual report of the CHS was presented to the audience by Anil Perera, senior lecturer of (SLITHM).