Put tourism industry growth back on track 

As a past Chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism I have been very closely following developments of the industry that have led to a major rift between the current Chairperson Kimarli Fernando and the industry. 

As reported in the media, industry leaders comprising of key industry stakeholders such as SLAITO, THASL, TAAL, ASMETSL and SLAPCEO have repeatedly voiced their dissatisfaction over the way the Sri Lanka Tourism Chairperson has been making arbitrary decisions instead of rallying all key stakeholders around one common work plan to recover and rebuild the industry that was shattered due to the breakout of the coronavirus at a time when the country critically needs foreign currencies to meet the very basic needs of people.

I’m at a loss to understand why the key decision-makers are not acceding to very frequent representations made to make a change at the top for the betterment of the industry. All past chairmen will vouch for the fact that such level of conflicts impeding the progress of the industry have never been there during their respective tenures. She may be having reasons not to step down despite several protests conducted by the industry stakeholders more than once demanding the chairperson to vacate the position. However, it’s in the best interest of the industry for her to either gracefully step down or the president and the subject minister to replace her with someone who would bring all industry stakeholders under one umbrella to generate the best revenue at this crucial juncture.

It’s also very disheartening to note the deliberate harassments to foreign tourists by the protesters demanding a political leadership change in various parts of the country. Many digital media clips are floating around the world damaging the tourism brand of Sri Lanka. It’s important for every Sri Lankan to understand how important the tourism industry is, if we are to arrest this alarming trend the country is faced with and its negative consequences on the economy and people. I appeal to all protesters to refrain from committing this crime that would in fact put the future of the industry in jeopardy. 

Booking cancellations are greater than 50% and new booking pipeline has gone dry based on the news from the travel agents. Many countries have recovered from the downturn of numbers due to the spread of corona in 2020 and 2021 if not fully to a very great extent. Maldives is a good example to follow in recovering for which we need the right leadership that would be accepted and respected by the key stakeholders of the industry.

We need dollars to overcome the current crisis and the biggest opportunity is in tourism – so my fervent hope for the sake of the poor people who are starving today is that there will be an immediate solution to the issue to put the industry growth back on track. 

(The writer is a Past Chairman of SLTDA and SLTPB.)