Benefits already trickling in IIFA - a resounding success

by Shirajiv Sirimane

Sri Lanka received six times the amount the country invested for the IIFA awards ceremony which was concluded with pomp and patently at the Sugathadasa Stadium.

The positive impact has already started to show with three Indian films to be produced in Sri Lanka, bringing in additional publicity to the country.

The event had an 80 million audience worldwide and the Sri Lankan image was portrayed to all of them. "Some may have already known about Sri Lanka while for others who did not know much about the island IIFA would carry a positive message," said Director General, Sri Lanka Tourism, S. Kaleselvam.

He said the event would give the country free publicity which an advertising campaign could not buy.

"In addition, the fact that Sri Lanka was selected to host the event proves beyond all reasonable doubt that Sri Lanka is a safe country; a message that could not be delivered for nearly three decades," he said. Adverse travel advisories and negative publicity drove away European tourists, but hosting IIFA put a stop to this, he said.

"This is something the industry has been craving for.

Thanks to the IIFA, they have got it almost for free," he said.

It was also known for that some of the stars who did not attend the event were politically motivated. So this did not create much of a negative impact.

The event will undoubtedly bring about a huge PR boost to the country - 'an enormous PR bonanza,' The mileage obtained by playing host to this magnificent event is valued to be well over $50 million; a rare treat indeed for Sri Lanka.

Apart from the success of the IIFA awards, the investment forum held along with it too proved to be a success.

Chairman, Board of Investment (BOI), Jayampathi Bandaranayake said the IIFA Business Forum which was attended by many Indian and Sri Lankan companies and officials was an excellent opportunity for all stakeholders to network and discusses aspects of Indo- Sri Lankan co-operation, including Investment.

He said: "Our participation in the event was based on our appreciation that the dynamics of the global economy are being played according to new rules, characterised by the emergence of new powerhouses in Asia, such as India and China."

"The global media can indeed improve the perception investors have of a country. Hence the presence of CNBC, with a viewership of several hundred million globally at the event, and the role they played in moderating the deliberations, was in my view of significance. This in turn will help improve our image in India in a major way."

Rohan Weliwita from Fine Vision, electronic media supporter of the event host, Wizcraft, commented that Sri Lanka gained a lot of technical knowledge from the event. "The stadium was entirely done up, enabling it to host any future international events," he said.

He said: "Fine Vision too gained valuable exposure working with Indian, German and British lighting, sound and vision mixing experts".

Capitalising on the IIFA, the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB) hosted the IIFA business delegates to a colourful Sri Lankan cultural night on board the Navy's Jetliner. The ship sailed along the beach to provide the visitors, a panoramic view of the Colombo city while entertainment was provided by the Navy's cultural troupe.

Visit Lanka's Director-in-Charge, Chandana Amaradasa said the company, founded in June, 2002 by a group of well-respected entrepreneurs in the tourism industry, was instrumental in bringing down the IIFA awards to Sri Lanka. They were very happy with the response, he said.

He said, Dileep Mudadeniya, Managing Director, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau (SLTPB), former Deputy Minister of Tourism, Faizer Mustapha, and all the dynamic staff of the SLTB worked tirelessly since Autumn 2009 to bring the IIFA to Sri Lanka.

The International Indian Film Academy awards is the first-of-its-kind and is organised to promote Indian cinema all around the world, thus reaching out to millions.

Tourist arrivals

Meanwhile, the new President of the Tourist Hotels Association, Anura Lokuhetty, soon after being elected said the goal of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, to have 2.5 million tourists to Sri Lanka in 2016, is an achievable target.

"Bangkok had 10.2 million tourist arrivals in 2008, Singapore recorded 9.7 million in 2009, Malaysia received about 23 million tourists in 2009. Sri Lanka too can do it," he said.

To reach this figure, the President has appointed Basil Rajapaksa as the Minister of Economic Development and has placed tourism a main priority under his portfolio. "This is a clear and positive indication that the Government has already identified tourism as a thrust industry and is absolutely committed to achieving economic growth and development through tourism."

"To meet the demand from these expected arrivals, and taking into consideration the average stay of tourists as six nights, Sri Lanka will need about 40,000 rooms. With a combined total of 22,000 rooms already across the formal and informal sectors, we will require an additional 18,000 rooms, at an investment of about USD 1.5 billion."

"To attract investors for development of this magnitude, I believe a variety of significant and genuine incentives must be offered to all prospective investors by the Government. Suggested incentives, which will prove attractive to long-term investors, include concessionary financing and tax, for lending institutions which provide debt financing for development on this scale."

"A major challenge will be to find the most strategic, appropriate and utterly suitable locations for these new investments. The government must play a major role in this task and assist these efforts by providing the land. Refurbishing and repositioning of our existing hotels is another urgent and imperative requirement to cater to the current demand."

Efficient workforce

"Developing and constantly improving the infrastructure and ensuring the continuous availability of, not only a sufficient, but professionally efficient workforce, to provide the level of services expected by international tourists, will be another challenge, Lokuhetty said."

"To achieve the projected target of visitors, arrivals to Sri Lanka, we also have to look at realistic development, and upgrading of the national infrastructure of road, rail and both domestic and international air traffic."

Integral to Sri Lanka's plan of expansion is moving forward and having a comprehensive travel system in place.

"We are happy to acknowledge that the Government has already commenced development of the Katunayake expressway, Southern Highway, extending the railway from Matara to Kataragama and developing the northern railway with Indian or Chinese collaboration." he said.

Another issue which must be addressed is the regulation of the Ceylon Electricity Board's tariffs in a manner suitable to all. While hotels consume only three percent of Sri Lanka's electricity output, the authorities charge them for a collective output of 30 per cent.

I understand that finances must be gathered and I suggest that a flat rate of 10 per cent be levied from all industries without 'penalising' the tourism sector, which has already struggled for too long", he said.