Lanka to leapfrog as destination of choice through digital solutions

Wednesday, 31 July 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Cheranka Mendis In an attempt to enable Sri Lanka to become a destination of choice, two leading organisations have come together to promote the utilisation of technology and digital solutions to enhance capabilities available for various agencies, such as hotels and operators, to cater to a wide range of tourists through the Sri Lanka Tourism 2.0 program.

Organised by American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) Sri Lanka in partnership with Sri Lanka Association for Software Services Companies (SLASSCOM), Sri Lanka Tourism 2.0 is a program that looks at enabling hotels and DMCs to explore best in class IT products and solutions available in Sri Lanka to attract, service and retain guests, and facilitate meaningful engagement between leading IT companies, hotels and DMCs to accelerate innovation and adoption while recognising best in class IT products and solutions for the sector. “With the increase of Gen Y types of tourists who are used to digital modes of communication, how do we understand their needs, likes, dislikes and potential interests?” AMCHAM Vice President Prasath Nanayakkara questioned. Listing out key areas the tourism industry is looking at, he recommended targeting clients through their medium of choice, showcasing a variety of options catering to different tastes, incentivise and capture increased revenue spend from each visit and optimising cost management to enhance profitability while delivering and managing consistent guest experience in keeping with signature Lankan hospitality and enhancing loyalty. The program aims to provide solutions to the above mentioned necessities and is designed with three key events under its umbrella – a competition, exhibition and conference. For the competition, 35 small, medium and large-scale IT companies have come forward with solutions under four focus areas defined as award categories by the organisers. The categories are marketing Sri Lanka as a destination, marketing individual properties, destination management companies and experiences, enhancing and managing top line enablers and optimising cost management. After an evaluation by a team of judges, which consisted of industry experts such as Sri Lanka Tourism CIO Director Udana Wickramasinghe, EU-SWITCH ASIA Greening Hotel Project Director Srilal Miththapala, Centre for Research and Sustainable Studies in Tourism Founder and JKH Brand Marketing VP Dileep Mudadeniya, Google Country Consultant Rohan Jayaweera and Microsoft DPE Lead Wellington Perera, 20 companies have been shortlisted for the finals. Those shortlisted are Fortunaglobal, TravelBox and TravelTriangle under the first category, Trekurious, eMarketingEye and TravelBox under the second category, Travelbox, Scienter and Chameleon under the third category and Scienter, Enterprise Sustems and Zhara under the fourth. Nanayakkara revealed that the finals are scheduled to be held on 12 September at The Kingsbury. Along with the awards presentation, there will also be an exhibition where stalls of other IT solutions companies will also be hosted, as well as a conference. “The keynote address will be delivered by a leading Singaporean industry expert and will be followed by a panel discussion with local experts. We expect around 200 decision makers to partake in the event.” AMCHAM Director Vasantha Leelananda, noting the importance of digital solutions for marketing the industry, said: “We have been focusing on this for the past few years. Things have changed and we feel we haven’t moved well enough and fast enough in the field of IT. We are trying to fulfil this through this program.” Tourist Hotel Association (THASL) President Jayantissa Kehelpannala noted that there has been a significant increase in arrivals due to IT solutions in the country even though, compared to other countries like Singapore and Malaysia, we are still lagging behind. More could be done, he said, lauding the initiative as an opportunity for entrepreneurs to be recognised for their work. SLASSCOM General Secretary Ruwindhu Peiris assured that the country would do well to leverage local solutions for the required technology without using solutions from companies from other countries. Noting that the likes of Qatar Airways and Virgin Holidays are using solutions developed by local companies, more should be encouraged to go along the same path, Peiris said.