Start Your Tourism Business initiative launched

In a bid to ensure the post-war rebound is inclusive and widespread, a unique new initiative, the Start Your Tourism Business (SYTB). was launched yesterday.

Start Your Tourism Business (SYTB) is a training program for who have a feasible tourism business idea and want to start a new business. It introduces the steps in starting a tourism business and helps them develop a business plan for the proposed business.

The SYTB program aims to contribute to the creation of viable small scale tourism businesses by enabling potential entrepreneurs to carry out the steps to start their own tourism businesses.

It is done by the USAID/CORE in partnership with the SIYB Association of Sri Lanka. Together they have developed Sri Lanka’s first Tourism SME Business Training Manual titled ‘Start Your Tourism Business’ (SYTB). The manual has been developed by USAID Connecting Regional Economies project to assist tourism micro entrepreneurs and small tourism business operators in the country.

The SYTB training materials consist of a manual and business plan booklet. The manual explains the steps in preparing the business plan. The business plan booklet is completed by the entrepreneur as he or she works through the manual.

The business management methods used in the SYTB manual is the same as those in six improve Your Business (IYB) Basic manuals. The manual was developed out of a recognised need to provide a more secure and sustainable environment for micro entrepreneurs to enter the growing tourism value chain.

In conjunction with the manual several training programs were developed and have been implemented in the Trincomalee and Batticaloa Districts to empower potential tourism entrepreneurs with the relevant skills and knowledge required to start a tourism business and to develop their own business idea.

The SIYB association in partnership with public and private sector organizations involved in promoting the tourism sector will offer SYTB training to micro and medium scale entrepreneurs interested in starting or expanding tourism related businesses.Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa officiated at the launch of SYTB as well as the manual for tourism entrepreneurs titled ‘Tourism Road Signage Guidelines’. Tania Brunn, Chief of Party USAID/CORE, James Bednar, Mission Director of USAID in Sri Lanka and Nihal Somaweera, Additional Secretary to Ministry of Economic Development and R.W.R. Premasiri, Secretary of the Ministry of Port and Highways, also participated at the event.