Asian Aviation and Hospitality forum in Colombo explores in-flight service enhancement strategies
View(s):Asia Pacific On-board Travel (APOT. Asia), an organisation that brings together aviation and hospitality leaders in the Asia Pacific Region, held its annual forum in Colombo on Monday in Hilton Colombo, with the participation of over 50 APOT delegates, airline representatives and industry stakeholders.
Aimed at collectively innovating and improving service standards of on-board service delivery, thereby increasing the tourist movements in the region, APOT boasts of a member base of more than 750 personnel spread across 56 countries, representing international airlines, airline caterers, inflight product and service providers and media organisations, according to a media release issued by SriLankan Airlines.
The previous annual forums of APOT.Asia have been held in Bali- Indonesia, Seoul- South Korea and Danang – Vietnam. This year, the forum was held in Colombo with the participation of industry delegates representing Indonesia, Australia, India, Malaysia, Japan, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Germany, USA, Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, France, Vietnam and China.
This year’s forum had a host of interactive sessions focusing on in-flight service enhancements, airline food, passenger well-being and trends in the Europe and USA markets. The line-up also included a chefs’ competition and a trade show.“SriLankan Airlines, Director/ CEO Rakhita Jayawardena, with his wealth of experience and expertise as a pioneer in in-flight duty retail, has taken over the chairmanship of APOT.Asia,” the release said.
Commenting on the importance of knowledge and experience sharing among the industry leaders, Mr. Jayawardena said, “I hope these educational sessions will direct you towards timely service enhancements and value additions to serve your customers better. This is a knowledge sharing platform where many success stories will be related to inspire you. Travel trends are rapidly changing and we need to be aware of the innovative and creative initiatives that will lead the industry in the future.” Supported by Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau and Sri Lanka Tea Board, this year’s Forum concluded with a tea-gathering coinciding with the launch of a Guinness Record initiative for tea plucking.
Commenting on SriLankan’s role, Mr. Jayawardena further said, “SriLankan Airlines, as the country’s national carrier that has been involved in many tourism promotional ventures, is happy to be part of this event. And, we will continue to endorse endeavours of this nature that support the growth of the industry.”