Marine tourism’s potential as a revenue earner for Sri Lanka

“With tourism in Sri Lanka being forecast to be the fourth highest revenue earner in the future, promoting Sri Lanka for its marine-related activities could boost the industry to unprecedented levels. Sri Lanka being an island, marine tourism should be and can be as important and a much more significant revenue earner than land based tourism,” was the viewpoint shared by the Founder Editor of www.DiveSriLanka.com, Sri Lanka’ s only online portal with comprehensive information about SCUBA diving in Sri Lanka, Dharshana Jayawardena.

Elaborating further, Jayawardena explained: “However, building Sri Lanka as one of Asia’s key marine tourist destinations hinges on two key activities. First, our marine tourist assets should be protected the same way we protect our land-based tourist assets, and second, it is all about how they are marketed in the world. This includes knowing about what facilities and infrastructure is required for the industry.  We still have a long way to go before we reach the standards of other countries in Asia such as Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The marine beauty of Sri Lanka is not appreciated by the general public and this leads to a lack of understanding on its tremendous potential for Sri Lanka as a significant foreign currency earner.”

Jaywardena added: “Sri Lanka has been the hub for commerce from neighbouring countries for millennia and therefore there are close upon an estimated 200 shipwrecks around the country. Wreck diving is another important area of tourism. There are still over 50 ship wrecks of amazing quality that can provide a world class diving experience to enthusiasts. Some are of great historical significance from World War I and II. A significant shipwreck that is already world famous  is the wreck of the H.M.S. Hermes off the coast of Batticaloa, which  is the world’s first purpose built aircraft carrier and was sunk by the Japanese Air Force during the raid of Ceylon in 1942. We have been able to list this as one of the Top 100 wreck dives in many international SCUBA diving publications.”

“Sri Lanka is also strong on the other aspect of scuba diving with its coral reefs. We have many limestone ridge reefs around the island and a world famous reef is the Great Basses reef, which provides high quality diving to the discerning scuba diver. Sri Lanka is lush with tropical marine life that includes fish such as rays, dolphins, and whales. In fact now Mirissa, Kalpitiya, and Trincomalee are achieving fame for whale and dolphin sightings. Therefore marine tourism can be a boon to coastal areas as demand for accommodation, transport, food and marine logistics increase as a result of marine tourism.”

Jayawardena pointed out that the primary phase to develop is to protect what we sell. He warned: “If the tourist assets deteriorate, then there will not be any tourism. Marine resources today are under great threat due to illegal fishing practices such as dynamite fishing and wreck salvaging, which are still practiced in many areas such as Trincomalee, the Great Basses Reef, and in some areas of the south. This has already destroyed many coral reefs. In the age of the internet, divers rely heavily on trip reports to decide on destinations. If bad press emerges about the quality of our reefs, such as the fact that we dynamite them, and that ships are salvaged instead of left alone, no one is going to come to Sri Lanka.”

Drawing example from the likes of Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia, Jayawardena noted that those countries have recognised the potential for marine tourism and taken leadership in declaring marine reservation zones and ensuring minimal impact from both fishing and tourism. “Dive sites in Borneo and Malaysia have been promoted in a way that thousands come for one week-long diving vacations.”

“Assuming that one tourist stays for one week while diving three times a day in average, the country could earn more than US$ 2,500 per trip for scuba diving charges, accommodation, transportation, food, and shopping. Imagine thousands of marine tourists a week for a whole year! This is a multi-million dollar business in the other Asian countries and Sri Lanka has barely scratched the surface, in spite of us having all the natural resources to do so. Therefore, I believe there should be a national initiative and policy on marine tourism. On the industry front, tour operators are increasingly getting involved in organising marine tourist trips driven on demand. We get so many inquiries from tour operators in Sri Lanka requesting advice and help to setup itineraries.”

He listed three key areas in which the Government can help boost the country’s marine tourism: “Come up with a conservation policy that spans all related Government agencies such as the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries; declare marine national parks as no fishing zones; crack down on illegal fishing practices that destroy the reefs; and ban ship wreck salvaging, as well as incidents such as  the recent massacre of 50-100 dolphins in Kalpitiya , which is  the type of news we don’t want Sri Lanka to be known for internationally.”