SOME of the most mind racking questions in the tourism and
hospitality industry will be answered next weekend as stakeholders
convene in the first ever round table conference.
Speaking exclusively to the 'Sunday News', the Chief Executive
Officer of Hospitality Design Partnership, Mr Meelis Kuuskler, said that
the East African hospitality and tourism industry conference will bring
together leading suppliers, buyers, investors, and cross sector service
providers for a comprehensive overview of this rapidly expanding
market.
"The 2014 Hospitality Roundtable is particularly important," said conference organizer and international hospitality expert.
"The hospitality and tourism industry is poised to grow at
unprecedented rates. But, this development can only materialize if
stakeholders can build a sturdy ecosystem to facilitate its sustained
growth.
With communication, innovation, and a coordinated planning effort, we
can build on the solid foundation that East Africa has already
established."
Over the next few decades, Sub Saharan Africa is expected to undergo profound economical change.
The conference will consider the way forward for the hospitality and
tourism industry, and all the other industries affected by its growth.
More importantly, delegates will be able to see how they, as stakeholders, can align their services and be part of this growth.
Mr Kuuskler said that among the topics that the issues will demysty
will be why in spite of having several tourism colleges in the country,
hotels keep sourcing their human resources from neighbouring countries.
The conference will also cover topics relevant to the growth of a sustainable sector.
Conference themes include: Current state of the hospitality and
tourism industry, Supply Chain and Sourcing: Challenges and
Opportunities, The Value of Human Resources in the sector, How to
generate profits from food and beverage, and Technological advancements
for hospitality operations.
"If Tanzania and East Africa are to benefit from this industry, it is
important for all stakeholders to be proactive and keep abreast of
current trends and advancements," he said.
Mr Kuuskler said that one of the biggest challenges facing the
tourism industry is that the workforce isn't valued and that unlike in
other countries, waiting is a profession and for one to be a waiter or
waitress, one needs to take a course.
He said another issue that needs serious working on is countering bad
news with good news citing that whilst Ebola is spoiling the image of
Africa, without individual nations driving it home that Tanzania is
Ebola free, the perception that Africa is one huge country will persist.
The two-day conference will allow delegates to be exposed to new ways
of ensuring their businesses remain competitive while aiming at
excellence and profitability.
Studies reveal that the most important factors for a hotel's future
are guest satisfaction, guest retention and word of mouth advertising.
Service providers in the industry should therefore focus on quality
service; retention of existing guests by exceeding their expectations;
continuous quality improvement; employment, regular training and
empowerment of service-oriented staff and search for best practices from
other markets.
Keynote messages will include presentations from local and
world-leading experts in hospitality growth who will be sharing their
views on how to secure the healthy growth of the industry in Africa.
Alongside the keynote addresses, delegates to the two-day conference
will also have the opportunity to visit a supplier exhibition where they
will have the opportunity to see how best to support the growth of the
industry.
One of the fundamental issues affecting the growth of the hospitality sector is that of Human Resources.
"The challenge we need to address in the hotel industry as far as
human resources is concerned is training and development of employees.
In order to equip the employees with the necessary skills, companies
should adopt a proactive approach when it comes to training.
Training should be continuous, consistent and relevant to the industry needs", said Mr Damasi Mfugale, CEO of Peacock Hotels.
0 comments:
Post a Comment