Hotel, Hospitality and Food at SLECC

Sanjeevi JAYASURIYA

South Asia's premier hotel suppliers and services exhibition titled Hotel, Hospitality and Food 2011 was inaugurated at the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre yesterday.

"Sri Lanka tourism has entered a new paradigm and it is a great growth industry. The government has set an aggressive target and it is reachable. The need of the hour is more hotels and improved facilities," US Embassy's Economic and Commercial Affairs Chief Edward Heartney said.

"There are tremendous industry related opportunities in tourism. It not only brings foreign exchange but international understanding and therefore capacity building is necessary," he said.

There are 20 USA trade stalls at the exhibition with a total of 125 stalls by 70 companies.

The three day exhibition is an initiative by Pico Sri Lanka and Montgomery Worldwide UK.