New investments in the hotel sector amounting to USD 2.8 billion will require thousands of newly trained workers in the next couple of years, Minister of Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs, John Amaratunga told guests at the 39th Graduation Ceremony of the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (SLITHM) at the BMICH on Monday.
Ninety graduates received their management diplomas on the occasion. The chief guest at the ceremony was Minister John Amaratunga while the guest of honour was Chairman, Jetwing Hotels, Hiran Cooray.
The top two awards for graduation year 2017, the Ceylon Hotel School Graduates Association Trophy for the Most Outstanding Student in the Three Year Management Diploma was presented to P.S.V. Senasinghe, while the Ceylon Hotel School Graduates Association Trophy for the Most Outstanding Graduate was awarded to Ms. B. Rengaswamy.
“The total investment value of new hotel projects is estimated at USD 2.8 billion. Needless to say these investments have put a lot of pressure on SLITHM to deliver thousands of new workers at craft, supervisory and management levels. I’m happy to note that SLITHM has risen to the challenge by producing the required numbers,” the Minister said.
SLITHM previously known as the Ceylon Hotel School and School of Tourism is Sri Lanka’s pioneer hospitality and tourism training provider.
It was established by the Government in 1966 by an Act of Parliament in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO). Its main purpose is to train young men and women in the tourism and hospitality field.
SLITHM presently operates under the purview of the Ministry of Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs and trains over 6,000 individuals in different aspects of the hospitality industry each year.
Minister Amaratunga outlined the need for trained hoteliers. “Sri Lanka’s rapidly growing tourism industry will see the addition of nearly 17,000 star class rooms in the next three years.
“We need over 100,000 new workers to serve in these hotels. The total number of SLTDA registered accommodation establishments as at 31st March 2018 was 2,131. Out of this the number of classified tourist hotels was 141 and among them, 20 were five-star hotels,” he said.
“Today the total registered room inventory stands at 36,133 with classified tourist hotels in the 1 to 5 star categories having the highest inventory of 12,828 rooms.
Over 315 new hotel projects have been granted final approval while 113 are under construction and 161 are in operation. The number of rooms for which final approval has been granted stands at 17,991,” explained Minister Amaratunga.
“So many hotels are opening up in the city that we may actually have to consider limiting new hotels coming up in the future. Investors will be encouraged to open hotels away from the city,” he said.
Chairman, Jetwing Hotels, Hiran Cooray made a passionate plea to stop the over promotion of tourism sites that leads to over visitation and subsequent sustainability issues.
He singled out Yala and Sigiriya as examples of this and called on the industry to focus on promoting less visited areas.
“Inaugurated in 1966, SLITHM has earned local and global recognition as the premier institute for hospitality and tourism management education in Sri Lanka and the region. It has produced leaders for employment in the industry not only nationally but also internationally” SLITHM Chairman Sunil Dissanayake said.
Dissanayake also spoke about the immediate requirements of the industry. “With the hospitality industry estimating nearly 110,000 new direct employees by 2020 to serve Sri Lanka’s growing visitor base, last year alone 5,485 students of SLITHM joined the industry of whom 88 were graduates. This year the planned output is 7240 of whom 90 are graduates. All of them have already found employment in the industry,” he said.
Director General, SLITHM, Buddhika Hewawasam spoke on the importance of international certification. “With growing demand for high quality human resources in tourism and hospitality, SLITHM has identified the need to obtain international certification.”