Achieving authenticity in Sri Lankan tourism

Moderator Natasha Martin, Sri Lanka Tourist Promotion Bureau Chairman Paddy Withana, Amata Corporation CEO and Founder Vikram Kromadit, Jetwing Hotels Chairman Hiran Cooray, China Outbound Tourism Research Institute Director Dr. Wolfgang Arlt, representative of the UNWTO to the United States in Geneva Zoritsa Urosevic and writer and tourism expert Pascal Khoo – Pic by Upul Abayasekara

By Madushka Balasuriya

Tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world; this might be an obvious statement to some but it serves to highlight its growing importance to developing economies. With the UN World Tourism Organisation expecting an estimated 1.8 billion tourists to be roaming the globe by 2030, the cultural and economic benefits to be gained from the sector is a golden goose too plump to ignore. 

But like any rapidly expanding sector, competition will only intensify as time goes on. The South East Asian and South Asian region is the fastest growing region globally when it comes to tourist arrivals with more than 500 million tourists expected to arrive this year alone. Add to this the fact that traditional marketing channels are being disrupted faster than ever, and it becomes clear that culturally rich hotspots like Sri Lanka need to offer as unique an experience as possible to stay ahead of its neighbours.

On the second and final day of the World Export Development Forum, which concluded on Thursday, a panel of experts on tourism in Asia discussed how developing countries could maximise their cultural value and authenticity to tourists while at the same time preserving the elements that make it so attractive in the first place.

This conundrum is of course not unique to Sri Lanka and, as such, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has joined forces with the International Trade Centre in putting tourism on the trade radar when it comes to those in the tourism and trade sectors while at the same time promoting inclusive growth among developing countries in the region. As per the ITC, tourism accounts for roughly 30% of global trade in services, but for many developing countries tourism represents the single highest earner of foreign exchange.

With tourists spoilt for choice more than ever when it comes to traditional attractions such as luxury resorts and shopping experiences, countries looking to differentiate themselves need to find a way to stimulate a new type of demand. This is where the concept of ‘authenticity in tourism’ comes into play.

Authentic tourism

“The authenticity at the policy level needs to engage in different sector portfolios. Tourism, agriculture, ICT, human resources, as well as social welfare need to be taken into account. The ultimate objective of including authenticity in the sector is actually to not only increase the value added for the people coming to visit the country, it is as well to stimulate a more inclusive growth so as to help the tourism enterprises and suppliers retain the wealth that is created through the sector,” explained representative of the UNWTO to the United States in Geneva Zoritsa Urosevic, kicking off the session.

“Sri Lanka is a very welcoming country and the authenticity here is everywhere. After the civil war ended in 2009, there were about one million tourists. Now there are about 1.8 million tourists annually. There is three billion in tourism earnings now, as opposed to one billion in 2011. 

“One of the main reasons the yield has increased is because there is an offering that is represented in craft, and in food, and such activities which is extremely important. The authenticity allows a country to place itself as a new brand in the external markets, so as to stimulate a new type of demand.”

This was a sentiment backed up by Sri Lanka Tourist Promotion Bureau Chairman Paddy Withana who, citing a study done a few years ago, said that the three main selling points when it came to tourism were diversity, compactness and authenticity. This, Withana added, dovetailed perfectly with Sri Lanka’s stated tourism vision to be a higher value destination, offering extraordinary experiences that reflect Sri Lanka’s natural and cultural heritage.

“We have a vision for 2025, which is to be world’s finest island for truly authentic, diverse and memorable experiences. When you look at Sri Lanka’s authenticity it is much more than our neighbours.”

However he noted that if this vision to drive economic benefits to the communities while also ensuring that the country was socially inclusive and developmentally responsible was to be successful, carefully planned strategic decisions aimed at bringing in the right kind of tourist and investor needed to be made.

“Our country is blessed by the fact that we do not need to import anything to Sri Lanka to attract visitors or investors. Our nature and the heritage value that we have is something unique, and I think tourists do come to this country purely on these values. But the benefit should go to the people. So we are looking at very seriously how to protect these values. By 2025 we want to have a unified approach to welcoming visitors to our country so as to celebrate with them our way of life. 

“This could be enjoying a cup of tea in Highlands, or sharing a home-cooked meal, or simply drinking a thambili in flip-flops. These are experiences that as Sri Lankans we often take for granted. But this is something we must look at; linking tourism with villages and interactive activities, where tourists get the chance to feel the authenticity. 

“This is why we’re seriously looking at the homestay sector of tourism, because they’re the people that enjoy the community, enjoy the interaction, and in the end the village is the one that derives the benefits.”

Globally an estimated 35% of tourists stay in the homestay or informal sector, and while it may take away some clientele from established hotel chains, Jetwing Chairman Hiran Cooray felt it was a sacrifice he and several of his industry colleagues would be willing to make if it meant Sri Lanka gaining the recognition it deserves when it comes to authenticity.

“On many occasions people have asked me: ‘how did you guys survive as a business during the war?’ I think if you look back, it’s because of authenticity. And it wasn’t planned, it wasn’t a planned offering of authenticity. One of the reasons why the Germans and the English continued to come despite the travel advisories was because of the people of our country. Because they used to mix with the locals, they used go in the afternoons to have tea with the local families, in the evenings go and celebrate with local families. I think that is authenticity.

“Right now the homestay or informal sector is growing. If it’s regulated well, if it’s encouraged well, that is authentic tourism. And speaking as a member of the hotel industry, I think hoteliers are supportive of that even though they’re taking part of our business away, we feel that it is important for the countries tourism to grow there has to be a mix of the formal sector and the informal sector. 

“And I have to admit the informal sector will give an offering of a better authentic experience than the formal sector.”

This goal for authenticity however must not be compromised in a pursuit for greater numbers in tourist arrivals, a problem which Sri Lanka’s neighbours have been dealing with as well.

Mirroring Myanmar

Myanmar is a country with many parallels to Sri Lanka having itself gone through a decades-long civil war, which only ended a few years ago. Since then the ITC began an inclusive tourism project in the country aimed at creating jobs in the tourism sector with primary focus on its Kayah State in the south eastern part of the country. Kayah which plays host to an array of beautiful scenery, lakes and waterfalls, is the smallest state in the country and was only very recently opened up for tourism following the end of their civil war. Therefore much like in Sri Lanka, the war helped preserve the state’s natural and cultural heritage, as it was closed to the outside world for close to 60 years.

“In a country like Myanmar, especially its smallest state, the fear is there that a push towards mass tourism too quickly could destroy our cultural heritage and authenticity. So when the ITC project started in 2014, we set out and had discussions with locals about how to manage our affairs and also how to improve the livelihood of the people living there,” noted award-winning writer and tourism expert Pascal Khoo, who grew up in Kayah under military rule and has since witnessed its gradual transformation towards being a more tourist friendly destination.

One of Kayah’s main attractions is the Padaung or Kayan women who wear distinct brass neck coils which has the effect of elongating their necks, as the weight of the brass coils – which girls begin wearing from a young age – compresses the muscles around the collarbone and rib cage thereby creating an illusion of a long neck. Tourists who come to see the Kayan women often just take pictures and leave, notes Khoo, but he believes more tourist engagement is the way forward in creating an authentic experience. 

“We don›t want tourists just to take pictures and go home like they have been for many years. Our plan was to make the community sustainable in terms of services and natural resources,” said Khoo, explaining that in order to accomplish this they follow three guiding principles: Safety, Service, and Story. 

“We’ve been training villagers since 2015, with trainers coming in from Thailand – a country used to mass tourism. In the beginning it was hard to convince the villagers about following the ‘Three S’ philosophy because they›ve never had a tourism experience, so trying to convince them that this knowledge would be useful to them took some time. But eventually they came around and at the moment they are working very hard, in fact, they are urging other villages to do similar training.”

But the ITC’s role doesn›t end there, they have also helped link the villages with tour operators, who in turn go and promote it in places like Berlin and London. 

“We work in a holistic way. Although there were many difficulties, some of the key benefits are intangible. Particularly in building up their confidence as people, it also builds up trust in each other – because in the past, when you›re in the midst of a civil war, you never trust anyone – and this was initiated by ITC, as well as our consultants, who helped and listened to them and are always keeping an eye out for whether these progressive ideas benefit the people and their culture.”

Warnings from Thailand

One of the greatest success stories when it comes to tourism in Asia is Thailand. Welcoming some 30 million tourists annually, the tourism sector makes up an estimated 15% of the country’s GDP. Yet despite these impressive figures, Amata Corporation CEO and Founder Vikram Kromadit, who readily admits he does not play a role in the tourism industry – Amata is the world’s leading industrial city developer – warned against the pitfalls of focusing too much on profits and not enough on conservation.

“Thailand is lucky when it comes to its geographic location. We’re right in the middle of countries like Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. The problem however is that Thailand is facing a lot of difficulties when it comes to the environment following this boom in tourism.

“The garbage, the waste water, and all the other effects on the environment are not good. Yes, we make a lot of money but we create a lot of trouble. If you’re looking at sustainable tourism, you should not learn from Thailand. Thailand is good to make money, but not any good to learn from.” Drawing similarities to Sri Lanka, Kromadit noted that Thailand has “good food, great hotel facilities and a very nice airport,” but said that overall Sri Lanka has more natural potential that it needs to capitalise on.

“Sri Lanka is a diamond of the Indian Ocean. You have better water, better beaches than Thailand, and this is my first time coming to Sri Lanka and I found it incredibly beautiful. You have so much greenery in the City and you have a beautiful culture. Thailand is good to learn from, but learn only the good parts and take heed of our mistakes.”

Withana who himself had earlier acknowledged that Sri Lanka was a tourism destination blessed with an abundance of natural resources and attractions, took on an equally cautionary tone when it came to conservation. 

“What is important in the future is to protect the environment. When bringing in investors we need to keep an eye on sustainability; global warming is taking place, so we need to be looking at alternative fuel and energy; we need to look at ways of reducing our carbon footprint. We need to get more plants into the country,” he urged.

Chasing China

China has developed in the last few years as the number one market in the world for outbound tourists. This year alone there have been 140 million border crossings, half of which are towards the ‘Greater China’ regions of Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau. But the other half head primarily towards South East Asian and South Asian destinations. China Outbound Tourism Research Institute Director Dr. Wolfgang Arlt, however is keen to draw attention to the fact that the Chinese market has developed at different speeds and in different forms, warning budding tourist hotspots to be careful when courting Chinese tourists. 

“You have to be careful that we are not asking too much of a good thing. We have a huge number of Chinese tourists travelling outside of China for the first time in their lives, and very often they go to neighbouring countries. These are group tourists, which we all have a caricature of in our heads, where they are rushing around, not always behaving very nicely and loud and very demanding, and they just quickly go from one place to another, take a photo and move on to the next place.” Dr. Arlt notes that this influx of Chinese tourists has led to many tourist destinations looking at ways to focus on quality as opposed to quantity when it comes to Chinese tourists. “These destinations are saying: ‘we want tourists who are more interested in our country, more interested in what we have to offer,’ and this is where the word authenticity comes into play. 

Trickle-down effect

According to Arlt, the informal sector offers an opportunity to ensure that the tourism earnings are passed on to small and medium-sized enterprises and others on the lower rungs of the economy. But he explains, that when it comes to Chinese tourists only the more experienced and frequent travellers will be interested in more authentic experiences.

“People who are interested in authentic experiences would really want to stay with families and learn how the local culture works and immerse themselves in it. This informal market is developing more and more, on top of the package tours where cost is very important.

“And when you’re a place like Sri Lanka where you’re competing with many other places which also have beautiful beaches, heritage and sunshine, you’re competing for travellers who already have more travel experiences. Most of them also do speak some English, and many of them have been studying abroad and have experience in an international context.

“These markets are bringing much more yield, and much more money which goes to the lower levels of the economy, towards the SMEs, and they are not spending their money on international hotels or shopping in international chains.”

Missed opportunities

Arlt also feels that many South Asian countries have missed a trick when it comes to capitalising on the offerings of the Chinese Market. Chinese tourists tend to veer away from the traditional when it comes to their holiday interests, understanding this offers an opportunity to develop different sectors of the tourism market, explains Arlt. “I was in Sri Lanka four years ago and I did a workshop for UNWTO and at that time the Sri Lanka Tourism Ministry was not so really convinced that this was a viable market with only 20,000 arrivals or so. Now we have around 300,000 arrivals so there is a big growth but we can see that in many destinations, Australia for example, they’re saying that there are a lot of Chinese tourists but that they’re only going to a few places.

“Also they come during the main season when they have a lot of customers anyway, so there is a question of capacity. That’s why it’s very interesting to look at the second layer of the market, for Chinese tourists with more travel experience and more interest in the local situation. Most of these tourists from China are not really interested in the beach and sunshine, that means you can offer the customers products which are away from the spaces most of the western customers are going to. Also away from the times of the year when most of the western tourists are coming.”

Arlt notes however that for this to be a viable strategy in the long run, market research is needed to identify and match certain products to certain types of customers, while you also need to train the locals on how to relate to different types of tourists. “This of course doesn’t happen by itself, it needs solid market research. For example, we look a lot at Chinese social media; what are the Chinese travellers saying about their travel experiences? What is important to them? And very often we find that they talk about things that nobody would have thought about. “You can’t just bring down Chinese tourists and let them live with a local family in Sri Lanka. 

This will only lead to cultural misunderstandings. With the right training you will empower the people here [in Sri Lanka] to understand what Chinese customers want and to prepare them for that.  Arlt acknowledges that this maybe a niche market, but points out that you only need to target the top 5% of the population, as these are the only ones who have passports.

“The Chinese outbound tourist market will continue to grow despite its economy slowing down recently. If this is done I think there’s a huge opportunity, yes it’s a niche market, but don’t be afraid of niche markets. In China, even niche could mean half a million people.”