Healthy competition needed to make Sri Lanka’s tourism vibrant

July-August could be the best months to visit Sri Lanka. The Kandy Esala Pageant is in progress and attracting both local and foreign tourists in their numbers. This is the time of the year when the government must provide all facilities for tourists. When you have state patronage, it is so much easier to promote tourism.

One can see how the authorities are trying to make travel in Sri Lanka reasonable in terms of spending. Now, nationals from as many as over 40 countries arriving in Sri Lanka see the need to obtain visas being waived. Another positive with regard to state planning is that tourists can now obtain temporary driving licenses; which in turn makes their travelling less expensive. These licenses are issued for a period between 14-30 days. 

This new programme allows locals to rent out their tuktuks to foreigners. As a result, local families have new income schemes. This regime must know that, whatever decision it takes on business related matters, it must focus on one thing; the importance of keeping an industry going. If locals find it more lucrative, they can rent out their tuktuks instead of driving them. The saved time can be used by these locals to engage in other activities that can boost the tourist industry and also fatten their purses. 

The tourism industry is an eye-opener for all islanders. We hear of so many success stories where retired people have taken to tourism and minted money. You can find tourists who are willing to pay when they holiday in Sri Lanka. These tourists are also willing to forgive shortcomings of local businessmen, but only if they are down to earth and honest in their dealings. 

Websites on Sri Lankan businesses catering to tourist interests sometimes have horrible things to say about our service and honesty. These are two areas where we have to be careful. 

It’s okay if you are an ‘also ran’ in the business of tourism. With Sri Lanka, it’s the opposite. The travel website big travel 7 recently named Sri Lanka as the most beautiful island to visit. When you are number one, then you’ve got to be ‘vigilant’ about your surroundings and competitors.  If you roll back the clock to the times of the kings in Sri Lanka, we see a history where several nations have invaded us.  So having the capacity to stay vigilant is inbuilt in us. In the same way, those who run the tourism industry must be vigilant enough to observe when standards drop and tourists who frequented Sri Lanka find an alternative holiday destination. 

Whereever tourists may go, Kandy is a must visit place in any tourist’s agenda. The Temple of Tooth is a star attraction and is world renowned as a UNESCO Heritage Site. We recently came to know that the government has given the green light to proceed with a project which will promote Kandy as a Virtual City. Under this project, Kandy will be showcased to the outside world having many sites with the potential for tourism. According to Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, the Virtual City project will be a ‘technologically driven experience of Kandy’s key attractions’. 

Over the years, we’ve seen other tourist destinations such as Ella (Famous for hiking trails and waterfalls), Trincomalee (Whale watching) and Arugam Bay (Surfing) giving a run to old and well-established destinations like Galle, Sigiriya and Nuwara Eliya. This healthy competition between tourist destinations will certainly make the industry vibrant. But it must be added that what the Israeli nationals, holidaying here, are doing by eating into opportunities of locals must be condemned. 

The youth of Sri Lanka who didn’t experience the atrocities of the civil war might not truly appreciate the lofty position that this island enjoys in the global tourism map. Millennials and those born before them saw the tourism dream of this island turn onto a nightmare. For them to see a revival in tourism and later witness a boom is splendid.  

From a tourism perspective, we’ve come a long way!