Wednesday Sep 25, 2024
Wednesday Sep 25, 2024
Friday, 22 November 2013 00:22 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
As global tourism accounts for a total of one billion travellers per annum, Commonwealth nations are presented with a “great” opportunity to position themselves and take advantage of the rapidly changing demographics in that sphere.
John Keells Holdings Deputy Chairman Ajith Gunewardene noted while speaking at closing session of the Commonwealth Business Forum (CBF) that was held at the Hambantota Convention Centre, that the varying demographic will change the definition of tourism in the 21st century.
“The potential of one billion new middle class travellers mainly from the Commonwealth Countries and China will be an opportunity that will unfold over the next 15 to 20 years. To put this into perspective, today’s global tourism accounts for a total of one billion travellers per annum,” said Gunewardene.
He made these observations when presenting the opening statement for the topic, ‘Tourism in the 21st Century’ at the CBF closing event graced by President Mahinda Rajapaksa and other heads of state, in addition to the six business leaders who were invited to present brief statements on the key outputs of the Commonwealth Business Forum that took place from 12 to 14 November 2013 in Colombo.
Gunawardena observed that while the opportunity for tourism is indentified, the products and infrastructure to cater to this new demand will be different to the traditional infrastructure of the old tourism model.
While massive economic prospects will be created, the growth in tourism will result in a multi-trillion dollar boom in investment, infrastructure and income.
“Many of the Commonwealth nations and Sri Lanka in particular are perfectly positioned to take advantage of this wave of activity to create a sustainable long term economic model to benefit all our citizens. We need to carefully plan for and leverage on this mega trend to maximise the benefit to all our nations,” Gunewardene added.
