John takes tourism by the horns
View(s):Sri Lanka’s new tourism minister is planning on whipping those involved in price undercutting; re-examining a hurriedly called promotional tender; and mooting a foreign expertise-spun master plan. In the wake of the recent drop in profits in a number of Colombo city hotels it was found that with occupancy levels going down hoteliers were involved in price undercutting.
However, this was eyed with suspicion and the new Tourism Minister John Amaratunga speaking with the Business Times said that he would call for an audit to ascertain if there was any price undercutting.
In fact he dismissed the possibility of Sri Lanka having any high rates and noted that the island nation could not be compared to destinations like Bangkok. He remained positive that this season “all our hotels will be full up” due to the conducive political climate amidst problems in some of the other regions.
When asked about the promotional campaign for the tourism industry, the minister opined that although tenders have been called for the selection of an advertising agency for the Creative aspect, it must be investigated.
Minister Amaratunga pointed out that the tender was rushed in at the last minute during the recently concluded General Election and it must be found out whether the authorities were involved in any corruption. “The tenders were hurriedly called,” the minister said.
The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) and the ministry were involved in the calling for a tender for the conduct of the long awaited promotional campaign for which about seven advertising agencies had been shortlisted namely: Bates Strategic Alliance, Grant Advertising, Leo Burnett Solutions, Lowe LDB, Phoenix O&M, Saatchi & Saatchi and Thompson Associates, sources said.
The Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) involved in the selection of the agency include: Defence Ministry Senior Assistant Secretary Shashikala Premawardena, Export Development Board Chairman Bandula Egodage, former Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing President and Seylan Bank DGM Thilan Wijesekara, Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration (SLIDA) Procurement Consultant Anura Lokugamage, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) Chairman Rohantha Athukorala, Sri Lanka Conventions Bureau CEO Vipula Wanigasekara, Tourism Ministry Additional Secretary Shirani Weerakoon, Trade and Investment Policy Finance Ministry Director K.A. Vimalenthirajah and Tea Board Director Marketing Premala Srikantha, sources said.
The minister also said that they need to consult the principal players in the industry on this matter and pointed out that they need to have a “closer look at the companies” shortlisted and “see if there are others who are interested in taking up the promotional campaign.”
Moreover, he said the new government has plans to develop a new master plan and a new development plan for the tourism industry closely coordinated with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. While local expertise would be sought in drawing up the new plans for the industry, Minister Amaratunga pointed out that “we must have assistance from foreign agencies” as well.
The minister noted that within the next 10 days these plans would be finalised to ensure tourism becomes the highest revenue generator for the country.
Minister Amaratunga explained that this industry was just right to generate high employment for the Sri Lankan youth both locally with the number of hotel investments made and overseas. He said they have plans to expand the present Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (SLITHM) to be made available in every district.
Initial plans would involve constructing hotel schools with a basic training programme through World Bank funding for human resource development in Colombo, Koggala and the South, the minister said.