Stakeholders need to work out long-term sustainable plan, stresses Abbas Esufually

• Insists stakeholders look at larger catchment area for recruitment
• Anantara boasts 30% female representation in hotel trade
• Highlights importance of career satisfaction to retain staff

Tourism being a complex and diverse sector of economic activity incorporating many players across various value chains, stakeholders need to work out a long-term sustainable plan to preserve and protect the country’s natural and heritage assets, an expert opined.

“We need to invest a significant amount not only for marketing and promotion, but for protecting and conservation of our assets such as wildlife and places with cultural and heritages values,” Hemas Holdings Plc Group Director Abbas Esufually said at the Sri Lanka Human Capital Summit session on ‘Tourism Pillar’. 

Shedding light on a few macroeconomic points he noted that the tourism industry is beyond the hotel sector and insisted the industry should look at a much-larger catchment area for recruitment and training outside the hotel industry in going forward.

Spelling out the successive staff culture at Anantara Resort and Spa in Tangalle, Esufually said creating a culture with original passion was absolutely critical. 

The resort boasts the highest female representation outside Colombo. “We wanted to have a high percentage of female representation as it brings in a softer touch to the property as well as a change in the employee culture as a whole. At present 30% of our staff are female.”

However, he highlighted the fact that it was important to assure the right facilities dedicated to the female staff. 

“The employee’s journey has to be amazing from day one on a daily basis,” he stressed, adding it was imperative to retain the staff.

Being one of the high end resorts it was critical to maintain the standards of quality, food, hygiene and service at their best levels on a continuous basis. 

"We need to invest a significant amount not only for marketing and promotion, but for protecting and conservation of our assets such as wildlife and places with cultural and heritages values The employee’s journey has to be amazing from day one on a daily basis"

Esufually pointed out that tourism at this altitude was a different culture and an experience for the entire local community in the area, hence there was a determined effort to build relationshipswith all local parties, which had tremendously added value to the property as they now had an ownership to the property.

He said that the resort had had the privilege of having international resources available at its fingertips in order to make sure Anantara would be an outstanding hotel experience. 

The hotel has provided employment to many locals in the area and had been successful in attracting people who had gone to the Middle Eastern countries. “Our top management staff has experience working for world-renowned big brands which has helped to groom the local employees and provide them with a similar remuneration to Middle East.”

He commended the Government’s efforts in identifying the tourism industry, which interlinks many of the industries to operate, to create a development dynamic.