Turning targets into reality

Saturday, 3 November 2012 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

AN Indian hospitality industry expert has joined the voices for extending Sri Lanka’s target of 2.5 million tourists, by pointing out that lack of infrastructure means that the timeline would have to be postponed from 2016 to 2020.

Hospitality Consultant and HVS South Asia Chairman Manav Thadani told a forum in Colombo that Sri Lanka still needs 33,000 rooms to meet its 2.5 million target and they should already be in the middle of construction to achieve the 2016 goal.

Presenting a visitation model to project tourist arrivals by 2016 by identifying competition set and source markets and calculating Sri Lanka’s market share in 2011 to arrive at 2016 forecasts by market share, Thadani noted that the country could reach the goal of 2.5 million if market penetration almost doubles from the 0.67% in 2011 to 1.29% by 2016.

According to his forecasts, by 2016 total arrivals are an estimated 1,934,968 with a market share of 1% in the total foreign arrivals to competition set estimated at 193,496,756. In 2011 the total foreign arrivals to competition set was 127,463,514, whereas the foreign arrivals to Sri Lanka was at 855,975. Market share in 2011 was 0.67%.

One can point out the limited number of high end visitors, which puts Sri Lanka at the lower level of the earnings paradigm, as well as the limited number of Chinese tourists despite close diplomatic relations and cheap flights.

Most parties are also concerned with the environmental sustainability of having two million or more tourists running around the country. Already Sri Lanka Tourism has opened bidding for over 3,000 acres of land, but previous development of tourism zones such as the one in Kuchchaveli has run into numerous issues, with questions being raised on transparency and good governance. The Kalpitiya islands too have raised concerns of whether the international investors will employ local guides and other services, enabling incomes to filter down as the Government expects. The demarcation of wildlife reserve boundaries for hotels has also resulted in criticism of animal welfare, particularly to elephant herds.

Sri Lanka Tourism itself is facing change with the hitherto different departments not functioning efficiently. The private sector has often lobbied for a stronger voice in the policymaking so that there is a stronger partnership between the two sectors. Accusations of favouritism and bias abound, with the recent Tourism Awards being a perfect example of a divided industry. Red tape, politicisation, and nepotism cannot be allowed to hinder the ethical progress of this industry.

More needs to be done in terms of events, recreation, and entertainment to enhance the attractiveness of the main tourism centres in the country. Yet these events need to be pragmatically planned and in line with the expenses that can be borne by the industry, Government, and economy. Better organisation, more transparent accounting, and better publicity dissemination are some of the aspects that need to be looked into.

As attractive as the 2.5 million by 2016 target sounds, there is still much that needs to be done before it can become a reality.