Sri Lanka Retailers’ Association meets Finance Minister to discuss ‘Shopping Festival’

The Sri Lanka Retailers’ Association held a meeting with the Minister of Finance Ravi Karunanayake recently to discuss the proposed ‘Sri Lanka Shopping Festival’.

The fair, which will be similar to the ‘Dubai Shopping Festival,’ ‘Great Singapore Sale’ and ‘Malaysian Mega Shopping Carnival,’ will target both the foreign and local shoppers by offering various choices and discounts, with considerable savings, while it will be coloured by cultural and sporting events, musical programs and book exhibitions, etc.

During the meeting, Karunanayake proposed to establish a national steering committee by involving state agencies such as the, Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade, Ministry of Plantation Industries, Export Development Board, Sri Lanka Tea Board, Sri Lankan Airlines, Hotels Association, Travel Agents Association, and Sri Lanka Retailers’ Association and also the media to work on the event.

The committee once set up will drive and coordinate the project in line with the proposed Government allocation of Rs. 50 million for the ‘Colombo Fair’.

SLRA Chairman Asoka Peiris and Hameedia’s Deputy Managing Director Hussain Sadique together with SLRA Members comprising DSI Director Kaushalya Perera, Swarnamahal Jewellers CEO Ajith Amarasekera, Softlogic Retail CEO Nasser Majeed, Mydeal.lk Group Director Mehraj Sally, The Factory Outlet CFO Nauseer Ahamed, Exclusive Lines Marketing Manager Tony Bastiansz and Founder Convener and Head of Business Leonard Perera were among the team who met with the Finance Minister. KPMG Principal – Tax & Regulatory Suresh Perera and KPMG Senior Manager Rifka Ziyard were also in attendance.

Speaking on the proposed Shopping Festival, Sadique said: “Currently we see an increase in tourist arrivals and there are limited activities in the country to attract shoppers. Tourist visits are usually only limited to historical locations.”

He also said that the project’s main objective was to attract visitors from countries, such as India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Male and  other Asian and European countries together with the  Middle East to visit the Sri Lankan Shopping Festival.