Women in Leadership spotlight on Institute of Hospitality SL’s first female chair Marissa

To celebrate International Women’s Day, the first female Chair of Institute of Hospitality Sri Lanka, Marissa Jayamanne FIH reflects on her 35 years of experience in the hospitality industry

Q: Tell us about your career so far?

 Working in hospitality is all I’ve ever known. My career in the field of hospitality spans over 35 years. It is a great industry to work in… you never get bored, every day is different!

Going into hospitality after I finished my education was considered an unusual choice as the vast majority of my fellow students followed more conventional fields such as law, architecture, medicine etc. Becoming a hotelier was not considered an attractive vocation as the tourism industry was in its infancy. But I decided to take the challenge.

At present I operate a consultancy firm which caters for the tourism industry in Sri Lanka. I have held key posts which afforded me wide experience in all aspects of tourism. It was within this context that I decided to float my own firm.

I have an established track record of contributing to the development of Sri Lankan female entrepreneurs in the hospitality sector and beyond. I’m incredibly proud of the fact that that as a woman in this industry, I currently hold a representative role in one the largest professional organisations in Sri Lanka.

As well as being Chair of the IoH Sri Lanka branch, I am Vice President of the Organisation of Professional Associations of Sri Lanka; 52 professional associations have become a members. IoH and I promote hospitality among the members of professional associations in Sri Lanka.

Additionally I am Vice President Association of Small and Medium Enterprise in Tourism Sri Lanka; President of Bangladesh Business Cooperation Council; Executive Council Member of National Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka; Member of the Institute of Service Management; Executive Committee Member of the China Business Council; Board Member of the Association of Emerging Leaders Dialog; Member of the Commonwealth Association of Leadership Malaysia; an alumnus of the Commonwealth Study Conference.

Q:  What do you enjoy most about being a consultant? 

HMC Associates was formed and can be characterised as a high-profile consultancy firm to cater for the needs of small and medium scale enterprises. I enjoy being able to share my experience and making things practical.

Q:  What has it been like working in Sri Lanka during the pandemic?

The pandemic has made the hospitality industry gloomy for the employees and customers. Bringing restrictions to the people’s industry for people.

Q: How has the hospitality industry been affected in Sri Lanka? 

The global pandemic has not only brought entire socio-economic structures in to a standstill but has challenged the globalisation and global operations of enterprises here in Sri Lanka. There is no doubt that this pandemic has brought lot of negative impacts to the Sri Lanka Tourism, hotel and MICE sector. Our industry here was only just recovering after the 2019 Easter attacks. Employees of hotels, restaurants and other connected people for hospitality have lost their jobs, small hotel owners having problems with the cash flow and sadly, the smile of the hospitality worker is missing.

Q:  What do the next 12 months look like for hospitality there? 

I hope that with the vaccination program for the general public starting this month, the fear factor can be eliminated. With practical safety service guidelines, an increase of local business is expected. The tourism industry will perhaps take a few more months longer to begin recovering.

Q:  You are Chair of the Sri Lanka branch of IoH, why did you decide to take on this role?

I have been serving in the Executive Committee for over 20 years now, and have held key positions as Assistant Secretary, Secretary and Vice Chairman with seniority and confidence to do things better. I decided to take the Chair of the Sri Lanka Branch in July 2020 to continue giving back to our industry and have been supported from the team at the Institute.

Q: What have you been doing as a branch during the last 12 months?

Food and beverage, culinary and service training have been completed for the Sri Lankan Army and Sri Lanka Air Force catering and hotel personnel. We have also taken part in Regional Hotel Association Wine Training membership development.

Q: What plans do you have for the future of the branch?

We signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National School of Business Management recently. We are also planning to hold knowledge sharing sessions for marketing and tourism students, and have plans to hold events for students to build their confidence. We plan to continue with forces training and Regional Hotel Association training once the COVID situation eases.

Q: Thinking about women in the hospitality industry, do you think we’ve seen a shift in females making it to the top over recent years?

Though it is very difficult to attract women particularly for the hospitality sector in Sri Lanka for many reasons, I am very happy to share that I’ve seen an increase in women being employed in the tourism industry by approximately 10%.

Q: What skills do you need to get to the top in hospitality?

It’s a great industry to work in. I believe you need a passion for hospitality, combined with developing skills through time and experience.

Q: What are your hopes for the hospitality industry over the next 12 months?

As COVID-19 is a health pandemic affecting most nations and Sri Lanka, there need to be strict health protocols to ensure the safety of not only our citizens but also international travellers. Sri Lanka received the Safe Travel Stamp from the World Travel & Tourism Council, reflective of the sound protocol implemented by Sri Lanka Tourism.

Q: You are a Fellow of the IoH, which elements of your membership do you use the most?

 I really value the networking opportunities, allowing me to get to know people from all around the globe. I’ve also found the fantastic IoH webinars invaluable and have made good use of the IoH Connect app. 

(Source: https://www.instituteofhospitality.org/women-in-leadership-ioh-sri-lanka-branch-chair-marissa-jayamanne-fih/)