Hotel sector can generate 80,000 more jobs - Cooray

Indunil Hewage

Sri Lanka needs around 60,000 to 80,000 additional people for the Hotel sector to cater to the 2.5 million tourists target. Addressing the SLASSCOM HR Summit 2011 on the theme of ‘HR challenges in post conflict nations’ Jetwing Hotels Ltd Chairman Hiran Cooray said they are optimistic that they would be able to cross the one million tourist mark by 2012.

Hiran Cooray

“If the country can manage to achieve 2.5 million tourists to Sri Lanka in five years, hotel sector will need to employ around 60,000-80,000 people,” he said.

The North and East have been identified as a huge resources market for future industry requirements. It is expected that with some industry related mega foreign investments, in the country, will create ample job opportunities for many Sri Lankan graduates.

However, Cooray lamented that female participation particularly in managerial posts in the tourism industry is low.

“This is the time to absorb them to the industry by overcoming cultural barriers for the sake of industry well-being,” Cooray said.

In order to blossom in the tourism industry, sound knowledge and industry related training plays a crucial role in the future.

“With the surging local and international customers’ expectations in tourism after the war, we have to match up with customer aspirations by investing continually on products and services.

Tourism is showing business and it is the responsibility of the relevant authorities in the industry to train, retain and motivate employees by investing on them to reap many benefits and profits in the long run,” he said.