Jaffna – as the Bali of Sri Lanka?

Last week I was on the Air Force flight on route to Jaffna for a meeting with 52 investors who wanted to invest in the first industrial estate in the Northern Province – Atchchuveley. In my hand were the key sites that one can visit in Jaffna as a tourist. The first thought that struck me was that Jaffna had the potential to be positioned as the Bali of Sri Lanka.

 

Meaning how Bali has distinctively positioned itself globally as a high end tourist destination that attracts the Brad Pitts and Angela Jollies of the world against a backdrop of being in the topography of Indonesia. Sri Lanka can also follow this practice with Jaffna. Let me throw more light on this idea given I have been working in Jaffna during the height of terrorism when 15 armed guards were required to accompany a visit the main bazaar which now smells the power of peace, from the time one boards a flights on route to the peninsular.

Jaffna -lifestyle

In my eyes I see the simplicity of the people of Jaffna in the way of life they depict on a day to day basis.  84.9% of those livening in Jaffan own a bicycle as against the national average of 39.8% as per data released in 2011 by the department of census and statistics. This reflects the pace of life in the peninsular and perimeter of life of a typical household when it comes to visiting friends, purchasing day to day grocery products and the circle of life. In my eyes this is the beauty of the people of Jaffna and must be preserved to maintain its identity. If one visits the most exclusive ice cream hide out in Jaffna – The Rio Ice Cream Parlour, this depicts the simple joys of life that a kid experiences on a Saturday evening. All ice creams are made with liquid milk and the combined with natural fruit that sure has the potential to give a run to retail brand like Elephant House or Cargills in the years to come, is my view.

When visiting the Jaffna Library, all remove their shoes before entering the premises which signify the respect the people have to education and the world of knowledge. Most Jaffna families believe that next to God is education and kids go for tuition not in the afternoon like the practice in the rest of the country but one begins at dawn around 5am in the morning. If one examines the statistics Jaffna depicts the lowest on those who have not attended school at just 0.9% as against the national average of 4.6%. Even on the segment of those who attend school up to grade five and on the segment grade six to 10 we see that Jaffna scores way above the national average. To be specific on the latter segment, the national average is 16.1% but the Jaffna number shoots to 52.9% on those attending school. This clearly signifies the strong discipline approach of thinking that one gets exposed to and is inculcated from the early age of life. But the scores on the O’levels and A’levels are below the national average and this will naturally increase given the recent investment by the private sector with programs like CIMA and degrees. After all the best brains on accountancy has originated from Jaffna in the yesteryear. This will sure become the trend in the near future is the thoughts of the experts.

 Jaffna-history

If I may track back on the history of Jaffna briefly, to do justice to this theme ‘Jaffna – as the Bali of Sri Lanka’.  Jaffna was originally called Yalpanam. The suburbs of Jaffna is Nallur and was termed the Jaffna Kingdom for over four centuries. Way back in 1981, it was the most populous city next to Colombo but as per the latest data of the department of Census and Statistics as of March 2012 the number recorded is 583,017 which in fact can be termed petite and beautiful from a very artistic perspective.

Historically, Jaffna was under Portugese occupation in 1619 whilst in 1796 it turned to a blend of Dutch rule that brings in the colonial architecture to the city. In 1948 with Sri Lankan earning the right for independence, the people of Jaffna ruled the peninsular. In 1986 the LTTE occupied area and once again from 1989-1995 whilst the IPKF had a rub off on the people in 1987. But, there after the people of Jaffna had one’s own unique culture and the peninsular began to blossom since 17 May 2009 and we are now seeing the real beauty being unearth that is poised to be the Bali of Sri Lanka is my pick up.

Jaffna- detail

The detail architecture of Jaffna is very interesting if one goes into the brass tacts. Senior citizens constitute of 11.5% of the population which is below the national average of 12.3%. It is also fair to say the population of Jaffna is young in nature and it gives a vibe of the new investments and opportunities that the peninsular can absorb with strong drive. The reason for the strong drive can be justified by the fact that the poorest 40% account for 18.3% of the population which is way above the national average of 13.3%. Even if one looks at the richest 20% of the population of Jaffna it is at a low ebb of 44.1% as against the national average of 54.1%. However, within the next three years there will be strong shift in this data given the new businesses that have come to play post 17 May 2009. This is actually one reason for my argument that Jaffna can be the Bali of Sri Lanka within the future. The beautiful beach of Casuarina can be strategically developed to blend to the culture of Jaffna which can be seen different to rest of the country be it Pasikudah, Kalpitiya or Bentota.     

Jaffna – Bali?

From a marketing point of view apart from the distinctive culture of Jaffna and its famous Nallur festival that attracts over a million people a year into the peninsular, almost 92% of the people being Hindu’s adds to the rituals and norms that goes with regard to art, music, dance, painting, leather work and the overall feel of the city. However, unless this uniqueness is preserved it cannot be cut out globally life Bali given that in most families, one member is living overseas or has been residing in a developed country which means there can be fusion that takes place with social media vehicles like You Tube, Facebook, Skype, Twitter and basic email access. But the concept of uniqueness must be drive by the people of Jaffna rather than policy is what I see from my travels to exotic Central and South American cities be it in Mexico, Aruba, Equado or Brazil.

Jaffna-positioning

Given the uniqueness of Jaffna that stems from a colonial past and a culture embedded in the beautiful landscape like travelling from the Pallalay airport to the city, The Karainagar road that leads up to the famous Casuatrina beach, the Hot Wells, the Nallur festival and of course the strong reliance of the economy to the agriculture and dairy industry makes it easy for developing a strong marketing campaign in the global tourism agenda. I guess when KKS is cleared and developed; cruise tourism can be targeted given the small proximity that one can enjoy such beauty in landscape and culture. Maybe discussions with cruise liners like Royal Carribean, celebrity cruise liners and even global niche yacht service providers can commence given that they already operate the Maldives.

Atchchuveley

With the shaping in of the famous Atchchuveley Industrial Estate that can take the position as the first green industrial estate with almost 52 investors fighting to get first entry into the zone, this can be the birth of the industrial revolution in the peninsular. Maybe next will be the setting up of a BOI zone in years to come equipped with state-of-the-art warehousing and container trafficking via the A9 with the entry industry giants like Swire. This will add to the theme Jaffna – the Bali of Sri Lanka!

However, given that the recent study by World Bank mentions that almost 35.5% of SME’s commenting that the key issue of doing business in the peninsular is access to finance and this needs to addressed. The good news is that last Saturday the Ministry of Traditional Industry taking the lead with the minister chairing a meeting with all banks and key investors in business in Jaffna will bear fruit in the near future. I guess it is this type of leadership that makes a difference in the changing landscape of Sri Lanka.                      

Next steps

A similar analysis must be done on all 24 districts so that ground realities can be understood.

A development agenda must be based on the premise of a brand promise that stems of each district. If I am to be specific; Negambo, Gampaha, Hambantota, Kanday and Trincomalee can be the lead districts given the unique topography. This brand promise must be linked to the District Development Program that is currently being championed strongly by the minister in charge of the District. The private sector development program must be linked to this agenda and the quarterly meeting must get strong media visibility so that the general public is aware of the overall game plan.

The author is actively involved in the growth agenda of the country in the Public and  Private  sector and has a double degree in Marketing, MBA and a doctoral candidate in business administration. He is an Alumni of Harvard Univeersity(Boston)