Hospitality trade to go for Chinese flavour
Shirajiv Sirimane
China is to train Sri Lankan tour guides in Shanghai. In addition Sri
Lankan chefs too would be educated, so as to provide a better service to
Chinese tourists visiting Sri Lanka.
Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau, (SLTPB) Bernard
Goonetilleke in an interview with Sunday Observer said that 15 local
tourist guides would be sent to the Shanghai Institute of Tourism for
training next month. “This is for a five months period,” he added.
These guides would have the opportunity to learn Chinese and also be
accomplished in Chinese traditions and culture.
“When Chinese tourists visit Sri Lanka, these trained guides would be
able to provide them enhanced services,” he said. In addition a Chinese
chef too would be in Sri Lanka for a six months period to train local
chefs.
“Chinese tourists prefer to have authentic Chinese meals and our
objective is to train local chefs in leading hotels so that they would
be able to provide this service,” he said.
The visiting Chinese Chef would conduct courses at the Institute of
Hotel Management (Hotels School) and also in outstations. These two
developments are subsequent to a MoU that was signed between SLTPB
Chairman, Goonetilleke and President, Shanghai Institute of Tourism,
Yang Weiwu.
The MoU will entail promoting more common prosperity and Development
of tourism related facilities. The signing of the MoU was organized by
Consulate of Sri Lanka in Shanghai.
Goonetilleke said that there were over 10,000 Chinese arrivals this
year and this is on the increase. “One problem is to promote this
destination is the lack of direct air links as only SriLankan flies to
Beijing.
“We are currently looking at other options to iron out this grey
area,” he said. An aggressive marketing campaign too is on the cards and
SLTPB is also looking at selling Sri Lanka and the Maldives in one
package to woo more Chinese tourists.
Meanwhile Director of Siddalepa Hotels, Asoka Hettigoda said that
there are 40 million Chinese tourists and Sri Lanka should market its
Buddhist circuit to China as there are 700 million Buddhists,” he said.
He said that it is high time that Sri Lanka starts renaming the
Cultural Triangle as the Buddhist Triangle as it would be more
meaningful.
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