Tourism positioned to drive Sri Lanka’s economic prosperity: Minister John Amaratunga

Minister of Tourism Development, Wildlife and Christian Religious Affairs John Amaratunga

Tourism was one of the hardest hit sectors by the Easter Sunday attacks in April this year. The booming industry crashed overnight due to the attacks which targeted churches and luxury hotels. Arrivals dropped by over 70% and as a result many small establishments had to shut down while the larger ones had to cut down on operations and lay off staff. In addition to this, everybody from the farmer to the fisherman to the tuk tuk driver to the thambili seller on the road had to endure the consequences. Now six months after the incident future prospects look brighter, with recovery coming faster than anticipated. With the return of tourists, small establishments are reopening and the tourism sector as a whole is gearing up for a busy winter season. In this interview, Minister of Tourism Development, Wildlife and Christian Religious Affairs John Amaratunga recaps the industry’s performance under his watch

Q: You took over the tourism portfolio exactly four years ago. Tell us about the progress during this period.

A: Let me just stick to the numbers and let you decide on the progress.

In 2014 tourist arrivals stood at 1.5 million. Last year that figure had risen to 2.3 million; that’s over 50% cumulative growth in four years. In terms of earnings, as per Central Bank data, tourism earnings stood at $ 2.4 billion in 2014. By last year tourism earnings had gone up to nearly $ 4.4 billion. During this four-year period graded accommodation capacity has increased from 36,000 beds to 52,000 beds including some of the most prestigious global hotel brands.

With regard to employment, there were an estimated 129,000 direct employees with another 170,000 indirect employees. As at end 2018, there were 156.000 direct employees and 220,000 indirect employees. However as per estimates of The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka there are around 500,000 people who are currently dependent on the tourism industry. If we were to consider a family as having four members then it could be assumed that nearly two million people are either directly or indirectly dependent on tourism for their income.

Sri Lanka currently has over 90,000 rooms that includes the informal sector, listed on online booking platforms. This number is growing continuously based on market requirements.

Q: What has been your goal with regard to tourism?

A: One of the first things I did was to appoint a Tourism Advisory Council comprising of the cream of tourism industry stakeholders. All our planning efforts have been done in consultation with and the approval of this core group. My Ministry complemented by this group have been passionately working towards achieving the goals set out by the Government with regard to tourism.

I’m proud to say this Government formulated a Tourism Strategic Plan that is being implemented over a three year period covering all aspects of the industry with the goal of making tourism the top revenue earner for the country. Tourism is also a key subject in the Government’s Vision 2025 policy document which charts the future economic course of the country. 

Therefore we could state that tourism is being positioned to drive Sri Lanka’s economic prosperity. The idea is to make Sri Lanka competitive in the international travel marketplace and thereby tap its full potential for the well-being of our people. We could have achieved very much more in the last couple of years if not for the various disruptions at every turn. 

Q: It has been said that tourism is benefitting only the big corporates and the entrepreneur class…

A: No, I don’t agree. In the past four years I have made it a point to emphasise the fact that tourism is ‘everybody’s business’ and that its benefits should directly go to the local economy. As a result of this the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority among various other initiatives has been actively involved in promoting and expanding its Home Stay programme. Many people in rural areas have benefited from this programme, so much so that hotels have been complaining that their occupancy rates have been affected. 

Hotels have the wherewithal to market and attract customers but the small man does not have such resources which is where the SLTDA has intervened by maintaining a resource base of accommodation providers in all parts of the country which is available online and accessible from anywhere in the world.  

Tourism is being positioned to drive Sri Lanka’s economic prosperity. The idea is to make Sri Lanka competitive in the international travel marketplace and thereby tap its full potential for the well-being of our people. We could have achieved very much more in the last couple of years if not for the various disruptions at every turn

In addition to this programme, hotels and restaurants have been advised to source their requirements locally, which means the farmer, fisherman, vegetable vendor, meat supplier, thambili plucker, tuk-tuk driver and even service providers like musicians, dancers, artists, etc. directly benefit from tourism. This is in addition to the direct employment provided in hotels, restaurants, hostels and others like transport providers, tour guides, boatmen, souvenir sellers, retailers, etc. So as you can see it is not only the big timers that benefit but everybody involved. 

Tourism is a major source of employment because of its labour-intensive nature and the significant multiplier effect on employment in related sectors. It is estimated that one job in the core tourism sector creates about one-and-a-half additional or indirect jobs in the tourism-related economy. One example is wellness tourism. There are around 6,500 registered Ayurveda practitioners in Sri Lanka, with around twice that number practicing informally in the villages.

Q: There are allegations that arrival targets have not been achieved.

A: It is easy to make allegations but one must be conscious of the impediments we have faced over the last four years in growing the numbers. Just as much as the Government has identified tourism as a key pillar of the economy so too has the opposition and it is no secret that their efforts at crippling the economy have been directed at the tourism industry. Even now there is a rail strike which has made Ella go dry due to the absence of tourists arriving by train. There were politically motivated riots in Kandy last year just before the perahera season which affected arrivals, then the political crisis where the entire Government was sacked just before the peak winter season – all this affected the highly-sensitive industry. 

In addition we had to face so many natural disasters like severe floods, a dengue epidemic, closure of the airport for four months, disruptive political protests, etc., which sent out a negative message affecting arrivals. So yes we may have fallen short of arrival targets but this has to be looked at in the larger context.

Q: The Easter Sunday attacks dealt a heavy blow to the industry, what is current situation?

A: Immediately after the Easter attacks on 21 April, tourist arrivals dropped by nearly 80%. As a result of hotels being targeted, there was a mass exodus of tourists in the days that followed the attacks. However the Government along with the security forces acted very fast and all those responsible for the attacks were apprehended in a matter of days. As a result of this security was established in all parts of the country, especially at tourist hotspots. This enabled the Government to communicate the message that Sri Lanka is safe for travel and is ready to welcome visitors.  

Just as much as the Government has identified tourism as a key pillar of the economy so too has the opposition and it is no secret that their efforts at crippling the economy have been directed at the tourism industry

Due to these efforts we saw the arrival numbers gradually improving since June and as at now things are pretty much back to normal as far as the winter bookings are concerned. Sri Lanka is now running a full campaign on CNN and other influential media conveying the fact that we are still the top destination to visit in 2019 as named by Lonely Planet and Travel & Leisure. In terms of numbers, arrivals that dropped to 35,000 in May climbed to nearly 150,000 in August which shows the trajectory of the recovery.

The recent Bohra convention with 20,000 overseas visitors from 40 countries over a 10 day period was a huge success and proved that Sri Lanka is a very safe destination even for mega events of this scale where all hotels in Colombo and the suburbs were fully booked during the period of the convention.

Q: How would you describe the current tourism sector performance in the backdrop of the crippling incidents in April?

A: At the beginning of the year our target was 2.5 million tourists for 2019. Last year we achieved 2.3 million which was an all-time record. Unfortunately owing to the April incidents we will fall short of the target but still achieve over two million arrivals. In order to do so we have come up with various proactive measures such as visa on arrival and visa fee exemption for 48 countries, special country promotion packages in association with hotels and airlines, etc. 

We are quite aware of the new trends which are essentially anchored on experience based tourism. I see this as the path to the future. In order to attract this growing segment we are developing and promoting new segments

There is new investment in the sector and all previously approved projects are progressing smoothly. As an example Hilton is currently building five new hotels in various parts of the country, Ritz Carlton is building three towers, Sheraton, Radisson, Marriot, ITC, Next, Amari are all in the process of building new hotels. The Government has identified tourism as a key driver of the economy, accounting for 5% of GDP. We are very keen to promote investment in the tourism sector and are offering attractive incentives that include fast tracked approvals. Support sectors such as entertainment, logistics, etc. are being encouraged. 

Q: It has been said that although it is compulsory for accommodation and other tourism service providers to register with the SLTDA, the cumbersome process has discouraged many from doing so.

A: Some time ago this argument would have held validity but not anymore. I have ensured that the SLTDA registration process has been streamlined to the extent that only minimum personnel interaction is required as all processes have been automated and are online. This applies to both new registrations as well as annual licence renewals. Personnel interaction is required only at the final stage when physical inspections need to be carried out. As a result of these measures we have been able to minimise delays and more importantly close the window for corruption.

Q: What are the tourism institutions under the Ministry and are you happy with their performance?

A: There are four institutions under the Ministry of Tourism – The SLTDA, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management and the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau. I must state that unlike earlier all these four entities are headed by industry professionals in the respective field with a proven track record. There are no political appointees and I’m happy with their performance but as I said earlier much more could have been achieved if not for the disruptions. Despite this the key performance indicators for each entity is evaluated regularly by the Tourism Advisory Council and the results shown have been more than satisfactory. 

For instance SLITHM has doubled its training capacity in the past couple of years and opened new training facilities in identified areas. It has also introduced new short term courses based on industry requirements. It is also in the process of upgrading its qualifications to degree status and negotiations are currently ongoing with foreign universities for offering degree programmes. 

Q: Are you happy with the ongoing promotional efforts?

A: To be quite honest, no. There are bureaucratic delays as unlike earlier the formal approval process is being followed in respect of the FRs and ARs. All procurements and tenders are transparent and done in accordance with Government regulations. This has resulted in a lengthy approval process and part of the delay is due to this. The other part is due to factors like the political crisis that happened last year where a new Government was installed for 52 days, the Easter incident which required the message being communicated to be changed, etc. It is also ironic that the people who complain that there isn’t enough promotion are also the very people who sit on the board of the SLTPB and scuttle the efforts being made by the Bureau. It seems to me that some individuals are more interested in personal benefit that the national interest. We are helpless as these individuals sit on the board as ex-officio representatives of stakeholder associations. 

However in the interim we are carrying out country specific campaigns in key source destinations, road shows, etc. and we actively participate in all the major travel fairs. We are also carrying out a strong digital campaign. All these have contributed in no small measure to the recovery effort. 

It is due to our efforts over the last couple of years that Sri Lanka was named as the Number One country to visit in 2019 by Lonely Planet and thereafter by many other influential publications. Recently Travel and Leisure magazine named Sri Lanka as the best Island Destination. These things didn’t happen by accident.

Q: How about infrastructure development?

A: Given the level of importance given to tourism by the Government, investment in infrastructure development has naturally been quite heavy in the recent past. For instance new highways are being constructed across the country linking distant locations with the capital. The Southern Expressway extension up to Hambantota is almost ready and will be opened in a few weeks, the Central Expressway project is going ahead linking Kandy and Dambulla with Colombo, then the Outer Circular Highway will link both the Southern as well as the Central Expressway with the airport highway while a new highway is also being constructed from Horana to Ratnapura. 

Meanwhile domestic airports are being upgraded for domestic as well as international travel. The Jaffna international airport will soon have flights directly from India while airports in Ratmalana, Batticaloa, Koggala and Hambantota are ready for domestic flights. We have also opened this sector to international airlines. 

On the other hand rolling stock in the railway is being upgraded for tourism purposes with new air conditioned powersets imported from China and India, tourism infrastructure at popular resorts are being upgraded with improvement in accessibility, better signage, sanitation, security with the establishment of 25 new tourist police posts, lifesaving units, etc. All tourist sites are being given a facelift with upgraded facilities for visitors including at wildlife parks where ticket bookings can now be made online. In fact most tourism services are now available online due to investment in technology. 

Apart from all this four new resort areas have been identified and are currently being developed in different parts of the island. These include Dedduwa, Kalpitiya, and Kuchaveli.

The industry itself has invested nearly $ 3 billion on new hotel projects that are currently under construction.

Q: It has been said that the modern tourist is constantly looking for new experiences. Has Sri Lanka’s tourism product mix changed or are we still marketing our beaches?

A: We are quite aware of the new trends which are essentially anchored on experience based tourism. I see this as the path to the future. In order to attract this growing segment we are developing and promoting new segments such as adventure based tourism, surfing, kite surfing, ballooning, parachuting, sea safaris for whale and dolphin spotting, wild life safaris coupled with camping, health and wellness tourism, medical, agricultural, culinary and sports tourism such as surfing, golf, diving, yachting, etc.

In fact a world renowned Surfing Championship with over 100 surfers from around the world just concluded in Arugam Bay.

Q: Where does tourism fit in the government’s economic agenda?

A: Sri Lanka has been described as paradise on earth as we have been blessed with an abundance of natural beauty and climatic variations. It is up to us to use this God-given asset in a sustainable manner for the betterment of our people. This Government has put in place a comprehensive plan to make tourism our main economic driver. If given enough time we are well on the way to make this dream a reality and spread the benefits of tourism to every corner of the country.