Tourist business owners of Mirissa unite to boost hospitality trade through MTBOWA

Text and pix by 

P.D. De Silva

Owners of businesses catering to tourists got together to form the Mirissa Tourist Business Owners Welfare Association (MTBOWA) to provide a better service to the thousands of tourists who visit the area.

“Mirissa is probably the only beach in the south where touts, beach boys, pan handlers or vendors are not permitted to bother tourists. We pledge to make Mirissa an eco-friendly tourist zone,” said Edwin Silva patron of the association at simple ceremony held to open the office of the MTBOWA last Thursday.

MTBOWA President Donald Weerasekera said that there were more than 300 small and medium scale hotels and guest houses in Mirissa with over 3,000 rooms and the association was formed to boost the tourist industry in the area by providing an exemplary service.

“We will be registering all the hotels, guesthouses, restaurants and other service providers. We will ensure that tourists are provided with true and accurate information. We hope to demarcate the boundaries of the Mirissa Tourist zone as there are some establishments who provide false information online and mislead visitors. We also hope to ensure that street lamps are maintained and to install a security camera system within the zone,” he added. Hundreds of thousands of tourists flock to Mirissa to bask in the sun, watch the whales and shoals of dolphins off the shores or engage in other aquatic sports. But most important is that visitors on the Mirissa beach can relax in peace without being bothered by touts, beggars, beach boys or vendors.