Destination tourism next big step for SL
View(s):By Jagdish Hathiramani
Destination tourism is the next, obvious step for the local events sector, and maybe even businesses associated with hospitality and tourism, and Sri Lankan tourism authorities should acknowledge opportunities in this arena by at least having a strategy this area, says Seniya Samarasekera, Founder / Managing Director of AV Productions, an audio and visual equipment supplier to the local events industry since 1992.
This 20-year veteran of Sri Lanka’s events industry has, himself, put together a project so his company would be able to branch out into the destination tourism field via a large scale exposition (expo) centre, which would also feature conference halls, restaurants, etc., all under one roof.
Seniya Samarasekera during the interview. Pix by Susantha Liyanawatte
In addition, separate to this project, he also expects to also open a local boutique hotel to offer accommodations to visitors at this expo centre, and has, so far, identified land for the overall project and gotten the government’s blessing. All that is missing, comments Mr. Samarasekera, is the full sign off by his private investor, a foreign events company with which he is tying up to do more state-of-the-art events. Ultimately, he anticipates that, not only will this entire project get underway soon; it will be completed within two to three years. All told, this conference venue, and its in-built facilities, will likely have the capacity to host
events encompassing between 4,000 and 5,000 conference-goers.
In this way, Mr. Samarasekera indicates that he will be able to effectively promote a one-stop-shop solution to fully cater to the local Meetings, Incentives, Conference and Exhibitions (MICE) vertical by offering end-to-end services for any company choosing Sri Lanka as the destination for conferences. Interestingly, this plan took shape because of a trend Mr. Samarasekera said he had noticed which has grown more prominent in recent times; the revelation that more and more Indian companies, and even an increasing number of Russian companies and international NGOs, have started booking incentive-type trips to Sri Lanka. So, what was once only a small area of the local events, tourism and hospitality sectors, has started steadily growing, offers up Mr. Samarasekera. In fact, Mr. Samarasekera’s grand plan for a high-capacity, multiple-venue expo facility had ultimately stemmed from his company, AV Productions, seeing significant, yet unexpected, year-on-year uptakes in revenues, compared to both 2012 and 2011, which were found to be due to the events sector expanding to include international conferences as well as trade fairs, exhibitions and the like. He additionally states that a number of foreign companies have brought ‘incentives’ programmes here, and his company is often retained to host these ‘incentives’ which often encompass a large number of people. At the same time, Mr. Samarasekera commented that the events market had also grown significantly as a result, with a number of competitors, all of whom were also benefitting similarly. A far cry from his start as one of the pioneers in audio visual equipment supplies in 1992, with just Rs. 25,000 in funds, only a few competitors, and a tough year during which his company established itself locally.
Meanwhile, when asked for advice for the new generation of up-and-coming entrepreneurs, Mr. Samarasekera recommends that they have to have a lot of patience, which he says he has not seen a lot of so far. Also, he advocates sticking with the age-old, but still important, tenet that the customer is king. And, if someone does point out a mistake, one must make an honest effort to correct it or change. In addition, he also comments that one must stay 100 per cent focused on the task at hand, which is only facilitated by personal involvement in every aspect of the business, and even building longtime, nurturing relationships with clients, etc.
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