Homestays get push to serve travellers better
Sri Lanka’s homestays received a boost this week with the commencement of an awareness campaign and training workshop in multiple locations in the country that would help to improve their standards to better serve travellers on holiday.
This project “Tourism Homestay Twinning Project” was carried out by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) in partnership with the Jetwing Academy, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Through this project the homestay owners were provided a peek into how to run their establishments and effectively market their homes that would help to generate increased revenues.
Commencing in September this year the programme was conducted over the course of three months with the support of Jetwing hotels across six regions namely Galle, Negombo, Kandy, Dambulla, Jaffna and Pottuvil bringing together 36 homestay owners that participated in the programme.
Topics covered include operations and standards, housekeeping, kitchen, food and beverage, front office and customer care, health, hygiene and safety and digital marketing.
SLTDA Chairman Priantha Fernando noted that homestays cover about 20 per cent of the accommodation available in the country.
This provides self-employment and through this there is an increased female participation in the industry as well, it was pointed out.
There are 1048 homestay units available comprising 2,913 rooms.
Jetwing Symphony Chairman Hiran Cooray said that they need to think of the next 50 years and spoke of how things have changed remarkably for Jetwing compared to what it was when his father started the business with just six rooms.
Speaking of the homestay experience he pointed out his experience in Cuba highlighting that the visit to a homestay was memorable more so because of warmth of the family with whom he lived there and which is what is important in running a homestay accommodation which might not be possible in large hotels.
ADB Country Director Takafumi Kadono spoke of the bank’s support to the tourism industry in Sri Lanka and pointed out that they hope to build a resilient environment for this sector.
Increasing awareness among women workers and try to help overcome the skills shortage and help improve the service levels of these places in order to create a more memorable experience for travellers, were among the suggestions.
The Homestay Guidelines revised by the ADB was handed over to the SLTDA that reflect current industry standards in line with visitor expectations.
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