The International Finance Corporation`s South Asia Enterprise Development Facility and Worldhotel-link website have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to set up four online accommodation booking portals in Sri Lanka as part of…
The International Finance Corporation`s South Asia Enterprise Development Facility and Worldhotel-link website have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to set up four online accommodation booking portals in Sri Lanka as part of an initiative to develop sustainable tourism in the region that benefits local communities.
Gilles Galludec, IFC`s Country Manager and Program Manager for SEDF in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, signed the document on behalf of SEDF. He said, The partnership between IFC`s South Asia Enterprise Development Facility and Wordhotel-link.com will provide hotels in Sri Lanka`s SME sector with unparalleled market access. They will have the opportunity to showcase their services in a growing market of independent travelers. Wordhotel-link places enormous emphasis on sustainable tourism and this project fits perfectly with the IFC model of developing environmental and socially sustainable projects.
The SME sector hotels in Sri Lanka have not had the benefits that typically accrue in a tourism-dominated economy. They are poorly served by both the traditional wholesale tour industry and the online sites targeting independent travelers. As part of the new agreement, SEDF and Wordhotel-link will work together to develop portals that provide local SME sector hotels and other operators of accommodation facilities with significantly better market access.
SEDF will assist us in building capacity and a resource network that will enable us to run our Sri Lankan operations smoothly, explained Leonard Cordiner, CEO of Wordhotel-link. In addition to assisting the local SME hotel industry, the portal will give independent travelers access to book lesser-known guesthouses and hostels through one e-marketplace network – so it`s a win on both fronts, he added.
High costs and a lack of skills typically keep smaller providers of accommodation from being able to leverage the Internet to market their properties. By creating a local e-marketplace that shares the costs, centralizes the necessary skills and, most importantly, provides an interface between the accommodation provider and travelers, these constraints can be minimized. Wordhotel-link`s local e-marketplaces collect and maintain member information on the Web and take bookings via e-mail (working in English with travelers and in the local language with members). This model is helping develop the local industry.
Wordhotel-link was pioneered by IFC`s Mekong Private Sector Development Facility and was spun off as a separate company by IFC in March 2006.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
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