Lankan hotel industry suppliers invited to exhibit in India

Sri Lankan suppliers to the food and hotel industry will be provided with an opportunity to showcase their products and services to the large Indian market, when the first "Food and Hotel" exhibition takes place in Kerala in November this year.

Food and Hotel India is organised by South Asia Exhibition Services (SAES) the holding company of Lanka Exhibition and Conference Services (LECS) through its Indian arm.

The organisers expect more than 25 per cent of exhibitors at Food and Hotel India to be from Sri Lanka with over 50 per cent being from India and the remaining 25 per cent from countries such as UAE, Singapore, Thailand and Australia. Local frozen food manufacturers will be targeted for this exhibition, as the demand from India for locally manufactured frozen foods is high, the company said. Porcelain manufacturers are another group that will be targeted.

LEC's Business Development Manager Lilantha Jayaratne said: "This exhibition is a stepping stone for Sri Lankan suppliers to the hotel industry to enter the Indian market. It will provide an opportunity for representatives of large scale as well as small and medium enterprises to meet with their Indian counterparts and hotel owners and other members of India's hospitality industry to form business relationships."

Among those expected to attend the exhibition are hotel and resort owners, hotel development executives, chefs, business development managers, housekeeping personnel, general managers, IT managers, food and beverage managers, engineering managers and other business leaders.

Products and services eligible to be displayed include food and beverages, catering equipment and services, premises and facilities management and technology, furniture, furnishings and tableware and health, leisure and entertainment.

SAES is the leading exhibition organiser in the South Asian region and has subsidiary companies in Maldives, India and Sri Lanka and has a network of agents in India, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Dubai.

Kerala Tourism and the Association of Approved and Classified Hotels of Kerela (AACHK) requested SAES to organise this exhibition to promote tourism in the region.

Kerala has seen a 17 per cent growth in tourist numbers in 2004 and received 5.8 million domestic tourists last year.