The appointment of an Advisory Council for the advancement of the Event Management industry, which holds a prominent place among the new industrial sectors identified in Sri Lanka, was held on Monday (9) under the patronage of the Minister of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development, Sunil Handunnetti. This is the first time that the Ministry of Industries has appointed an Advisory Council for the service sector.
The event management industry, which has been recognized as a creative industry in Sri Lanka for over 30 years, is a huge industry sector that provides 30,000 direct employment opportunities and 80,000 indirect employment opportunities and worth Rs. 60 billion in 2025. It also supports over 400,000 families, and takes Sri Lankan craftsmanship to the world. The industry is expected to grow to Rs. 250 billion in the future.
Globally, this industry is growing at a high rate of 10%-14% annually and is valued at USD 1.5 trillion. This advisory council consists of 25 committee members representing all three sectors, namely the public sector, the private sector and the academic sector, and Saliya Weerasekara, President of the Event Management Association, was elected as its Chairman.
The current issues in this sector, future measures to be taken for development and future plans were discussed, and the potential of Sri Lanka to become an event hub in South Asia in conjunction with the tourism industry was discussed. Issues such as the issue of obtaining permits for organizing events, the lack of clarity in the sector, maintaining creative rights and standards, maintaining a national calendar of various events held in Sri Lanka, and developing domestic air travel facilities were discussed at length. Special attention was also paid to the need for a suitable venue for holding international events in the capital.
The discussion was attended by Deputy Minister of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development Chathuranga Abeysinghe, Secretary to the Ministry of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development Thilaka Jayasundara, Additional Secretary S.W.C. Jayamini, Director Geethani Dissanayake, ministry officials, designers and industry professionals involved in the event management field participated.(MFJ)
Source : Daily News
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