Future of tourism and hospitality: ICOHT conference kicks off on 4 November

The 8th International 

Conference on Hospitality and Tourism 

Management (ICOHT) 2021 will be held from 

4 to 5 November virtually under the theme ‘Post-Pandemic Tourism and Hospitality’. It is organised by conference specialists, the International Institute of Knowledge Management (TIIKM). Managing Director and ICOHT 2021 Conference Convenor Isanka 

P. Gamage shares some insights into the event:

 

Q: You are an entrepreneur who brings novel concepts to Sri Lanka. How do you see the future of tourism in Sri Lanka?

A: Due to the pandemic the Government stopped welcoming tourists to the country. Many travel agencies have closed down or moved on to other industries. Hotels have turned into quarantine centres and hotels which are operating are experiencing lack of staff to cater the tourists. Many events have transformed a virtual experience where an individual can organise mega events with minute resources. The country’s economy is experiencing a slowdown. University students and interested parties may have very limited opportunities to gain the required industry experience as the companies are closed. 

With the support of the vaccination program the country is slowly getting back to normal. Many hotels and travel agencies once again started to welcome tourists with special tourist packages. They are mainly focused on business tourism, however with that the length of stay will be reduced; as you know some may try to travel back soon after the work is finished. Yet, we can utilise this opportunity and convert into the main target market area.

TIIKM realised the potential of it and we are organising destination events and business events. The Port City and other development projects are the great key points we are using for all those. 

 Q: How do TIIKM conferences support the tourism industry?

A: Since 2013, the International Conferences on Hospitality and Tourism Management (ICOHT) has been well attended and hugely successful. This much sought-after, annual eminent scholarly event is now ranked as a premier international forum for the presentation of new advances and research results in the fields of tourism and hospitality management. This conference brings together tourism and hospitality industry leaders, educators, researchers and scholars from around the world.

The 8th International Conference on Hospitality and Tourism Management (ICOHT) 2021 will discuss ‘Post-Pandemic Tourism & Hospitality’ with international and local perspectives. The conference will be held from 4-5 November. ICOHT 2021 is certified by Continuing Professional Development (CPD), UK.

ICOHT 2021 is chaired by Dr. Chandana (Chandi) Jayawardena, President – Chandi J. Associates Inc. Consulting in Canada and Prof. Suranga Silva, Professor in Tourism Economics, University of Colombo in Sri Lanka. Dr. Paul Willie, Professor Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) in Canada, Dr. Mihee Kang, Director Asia-Pacific, and Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) in Korea will be attending as Keynote Speakers. Dr. Yanki Hartijasti, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Indonesia in Indonesia, Dr. Sumith De Silva, Head of Marketing and Corporate, Communications Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd., Dr. Chaozhi Zhang, Chairholder, UNESCO Chair on Sustainable Tourism in UNESCO Designated Sites, Sun Yat-sen University in China, and Dr. Jinlin Zhao, former Foodservice Manager for three Olympic Games: 1996 Atlanta, 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will be attending as the Plenary speakers to ICOHT 2021. 

Three special events such as the Panel Discussion titled ‘Event Tourism: An Industry on the Road to Recovery,’ a Webinar on ‘Spiritual Tourism’ and the WHATT Round Table Discussion will take place at the conference. There are nine International journals including a Special Issue and SCOPUS indexed for publishing. Check ‘ICOHT.TIIKM’ on the website to find the ICOHT 2021 webpage. 

Q: Sri Lanka faced two crises and disasters continuously. After the Easter Attacks when the organisations tried to head off from the impact, we got COVID-19. With the financial difficulties many organisations had to take serious decisions which impacted the future of the organisation and employees. TIIKM is shining and growing during both these incidents. How did TIIKM do it?

A: Being an entrepreneur means you have to be innovative and not afraid to take risks. Likewise, when something happens you need to think and find the best solution rather than living with the incident. Another important thing is that we have experienced terrorist attacks and virus earlier, then you have the experience of how it was impacted. 

TIIKM always thinks about things ahead. TIIKM had the plan that if the same thing happened one day how we should face it. We prepared for the change earlier. That is why TIIKM was able to adapt to change sooner and was able to survive. I proudly say that all our employees are young blood and energetic. They are well educated and have the strength to face any crisis. They were the pillars who brought TIIKM to this level. 

As an example in 2020 when Sri Lanka was reporting COVID patients, we realised how much this virus can impact the country and ourselves. We took our step to the big change which was not a familiar concept to Sri Lanka – virtual events. Now it has become the most popular concept that we all follow. I am proud to say that TIIKM is the one and only company in the Asian region that organises 20 conferences per year in an exclusive manner. TIIKM conferences have introduced many concepts to the industry.

Q: How long has TIIKM been in operation and what has been the progress?

A: The International Institute of Knowledge Management has eight years of history and today we are organise 20 conferences per year. All these years we were the bridge for researchers and industry experts to connect. We have collaborated with more than 250 universities across the globe. In 2017 we won the award as the Most Innovative Education in Excellence Institute. The upcoming conference is the 8th International Conference on Hospitality and Tourism Management 2021. 

 Q: What is your message to stakeholders in both the public and private sectors?

A: I would say sometimes in our culture we are concerned about what others are saying. Therefore, we are afraid to take risks. If you have done proper research for your goal then you need to take the risks and implement them. “Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice” – Steve Jobs. There are always 2% of consumers from the market purchasing your product without considering any. If you worked well to serve the 2% to make them delighted, definitely they are the ones who will spread the word for your business.