Walking the tourism talk

As the old saying goes, a failure to plan is to plan to fail. So, in that sense, the moves being made by the travel and tourism industry to secure inbound tourists to Sri Lanka, even amidst a pandemic, are promising.

Yes, travel is a risk, however it is one that can be managed provided the correct health and safety protocols are put in place and implemented. Whether Sri Lanka manages this successfully remains to be seen, however the idea itself is not beyond reason. 

Among the moves taking places are SriLankan Airlines’ ‘buy-one-get-one-free’ ticket offer to select destinations, while the Tourism Ministry has taken the initiative to send high-level delegations to Ukraine and Russia, to woo those markets.

But be that as it may, this is merely one part of the solution, and the Government would do well to remind itself of that. While, pushing for more tourists is undoubtedly important, the more pressing concern is ensuring Sri Lanka’s tourist sites are protected and developed in a sustainable manner.

Indeed, development that aligns with community interests is surely the most holistic way forward, though the extent to which this is done is the difference between short-term gain and long-term sustainable prosperity. And it’s a path Sri Lanka has failed to successfully traverse in the past.

More than a decade since the end of the war, heralding the tourism boom, Sri Lanka has enjoyed generous revenue increases but has failed to ensure that tourists get the care, security, facilities, fairness and transparency that would make its product competitive, and one that holds up to global standards. 

The post-war boom had attracted many who simply wanted to make money from tourism and were not concerned enough about the sustainability of the industry. There were also promotional campaigns that lacked sufficient transparency and didn’t always hit the mark.

Furthermore, the protection of the country’s natural resources has been woefully inadequate. While the Government must be commended on recent declarations of several forest areas in the island as national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, that is but the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Conservation work done on off-shore attractions such as shipwreck diving and the protection of Sri Lanka’s abundance of marine life – both of which are potential cash cows that are being tragically under-utilised – have sadly taken a backseat. Meanwhile a lack of awareness and education among area residents means pollution is a continuing concern.

If Sri Lanka is to stay true to its goal of sustainability, the Government needs to conduct much more thorough and hands-on engagement when it comes to educating the public at the grassroots level while at the same time pushing the Sri Lankan brand in a far more coordinated manner to maximise the country’s exposure abroad. 

In this sense it’s promising to see that among the latest set of initiatives, websites targeted at foreign tourists are to be designed, while Rs. 29 million has been put aside to train youth interested in the tourism industry.

The sincere hope now is that, unlike in the past, these moves are well thought-out, with a coordinated plan put into motion to ensure that locals are educated on the importance of tourism – as well as environmental sustainability – to Sri Lanka’s economy, and that work is done simultaneously to improve security and service standards across the board.