THASL under new leadership unveils excellence awards, digital benchmarks, upcoming conference to propel tourism to US $ 10bn

By Nishel Fernando 

The Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) has unveiled a multi-pronged strategic roadmap designed to elevate service standards, aggressively digitise the local hospitality landscape and convene global stakeholders.

Representing over 200 members ranging from luxury hotels to boutique villas, the association accounts for over 20,000 rooms across the country and provides direct employment to over 600,000 individuals. 

As the largest private-sector investor in the industry with investments exceeding US $ 15 billion, the body is leveraging its massive scale under the new leadership of President Asoka Hettigoda to launch a National Tourism Excellence Award, an upcoming industry conference and a highly integrated digital portal. 

These fresh initiatives, which were announced at a recent press conference held in Colombo, are positioned as critical stepping stones in the formal sector’s broader ambition to attract five million tourists and generate US $ 10 billion in income by 2030.

Benchmarking hospitality excellence

Recognising the urgent need to elevate service quality amidst a highly competitive regional market, where formal room capacity has doubled over the past five years, the association is rolling out a National Tourism Excellence Award ceremony later this year. The initiative aims to systematically benchmark Sri Lanka’s hospitality segment against established international standards. An association spokesperson during a recent press briefing confirmed that the formal launch ceremony is slated for early June, inviting media to outline the technical panels and application processes.

“We want to make the best out of the best in the industry where everyone will be able to make any comments about this selection criteria,” the spokesperson stated. 

The association hopes to have the tourism award fully in place by end-October or early November, initially focusing on the local hospitality segment before expanding. To ensure absolute credibility, the association has closely analysed the Australian model and engaged an expert consultant to design robust selection criteria.

A one-stop digital hub for industry

Running parallel to this service benchmarking is a massive overhaul of the association’s digital presence. The new digital platform will act as a centralised, one-stop hub serving the industry members, international travellers and potential investors. 

A committee member of the association noted that the current website is severely outdated, failing to recognise the award-winning companies, highlight sustainability practices or feature new areas of investment. 

The revamped portal will provide a much-needed national-level platform for formal establishments to showcase their products, share vital knowledge on energy-saving initiatives and market their achievements effectively.

“Our members have developed or won awards and their products have been taken to the next level but there’s a bit of a difficulty of marketing these things where there’s no national level platform for them to showcase this,” the committee member remarked. 

The new platform is designed to bridge this gap, granting wide exposure to the operational excellence taking place within the formal sector.

Streamlining recruitment and investment

The digital upgrade will also integrate a dedicated human resources portal to help the member hotels directly advertise vacancies and streamline recruitment efforts. This presents a crucial intervention, given the severe manpower shortages currently challenging the hospitality landscape. For prospective investors and new industry entrants, the platform will offer a consolidated, transparent view of prevailing regulatory frameworks.

“They will have all the acts and registration summarised in this website, from the classification to SLTDA and the forest conservation. All these prevailing acts and new things will be featured on that,” the committee member added. 

The officials confirmed that the comprehensive website is expected to be fully up and running within the next month and a half.

Strategic industry engagement

Adding to these initiatives, the association announced plans to host a major tourism conference to position Sri Lanka as a central hub for hospitality dialogue and investment. The conference will serve as a dynamic platform bringing together the local hoteliers, international tour operators and prospective investors to discuss market trends, policy frameworks and growth strategies, further elevating the destination’s global profile and reinforcing the call for standardised service excellence.

Beyond digital and service enhancements, the association is actively moving to play a more robust role in shaping national tourism policy. Under Hettigoda’s leadership, the body is championing the creation of a Joint Tourism Stakeholder Forum, a unified advisory platform that will bring together all major tourism associations, airlines and sector bodies.

By consolidating the historically fragmented voices of the industry, the formal sector aims to collaborate more effectively with the government on long-term tourism development, drive meaningful regulatory reforms and collectively address immediate hurdles such as foreign currency leakage.