Tourism and politics need to be balanced: Dr. Rohantha Athukorala

Top professional and Chairman of the 32 billion rupee retain chain in Sri Lanka – Lanka Sathosa Dr. Rohantha Athukorala voiced, “Tourism and politics must be balanced if Sri Lanka is to avert the challenging times in the future on the supply side of essential food items,” during the keynote address at the Tourism Leaders Summit Dinner organised by the Colombo University of Sri Lanka at Waters Edge.

His argument was that given the supply constraints that Sri Lanka is challenged with in the down turn of the agricultural sector, the country is currently faced with production volumes falling short on most essential items that include fruits, vegetables, chicken and eggs just to name a few. This has resulted in the country having to import theses items to cater to the increasing domestic demand and the increasing tourism footfall that is growing at a double digit number becoming a strain on the political agenda of the country among the masses. 

Sri Lanka needs greater ‘Macro Planning’, said Athukorala who shouldered the responsibility of heading the National Council For Economic Development (NCED) under top economist and the then Secretary Treasury Dr. P.B. Jayasundera. 

Whilst commending good work done on the tourism arrivals picking up, one can see negative ramification with the cost of the basic food items going up in price due to the supply- demand dynamics due to the increasing tourist arrivals. The September inflation registered an upward number of 4.7% as per Central Bank communiqué. This adds pressure on the consumer purse that in turn creates a wage war protest, finally leading to political pressure that has resulted in governments being challenged politically. This is more a global phenomenon than a local one, said Athukorala. 

This price spiral must be managed if we are to support the competitive agenda of the President and support his vision for the country, he voiced. If not, the world has seen an up roar that has resulted in governments loosing face. We now need the macro economic development agenda factoring in the increased mouths to feed due to increasing tourism number, quipped Dr. Athukorala who himself was the Chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau in the first 100 days of the current Government.