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Cess
mess Many of them laugh at the goings-on in the hurly-burly campaign trails - politicians gathering dust as they go along - only to throw dust in the people's eyes once elections are concluded and they are in power. It
was heartening, therefore, to see Tourism Minister Anura Bandaranaike,
a man well-versed in the subject, bringing in the second reading
of the Tourism Authority Bill, a law drafted during the days of
the Ranil Wickremesinghe government to collect monies for a cess
fund to promote Sri Lankan tourism. In the interim, an unholy situation arose where monies collected (1 per cent of the gross turnover of each business in the travel and hospitality trade went into the cess fund) were spent - sans the envisaged Authority - by the Tourist Board. The trade often passed this burden onto the consumer so that even the purchase of a cake from a hotel was additionally charged this tourism promotion tax. That during these two or three years the Tourist Board spent the money most irresponsibly is an established fact. They purchased new furniture for their offices; increased staff salaries; spent lavishly on receptions and so-called travel fairs overseas and brought down music groups to Colombo - all of which had very little impact on the promotion of tourism. The trade, sad to say, hadn't what it takes to stand up and put a stop to this wanton disregard of what the cess fund was meant to do. In short, they were afraid to open their collective mouths and ask the dictatorial Tourist Board to put the monies to better use. Instead, when the Authority was approved on Tuesday, they threw a champagne party to celebrate. And the Secretary to the Ministry of Tourism, the ultimate accounting authority for such funds seems to have 'looked the other way' as these funds were wasted as if they were someone's personal expense account. Sri Lanka's tourism has had ups and downs more frequently than a pendulum swings. The north-east war, the attack on the international airport and the tsunami have all taken their toll. Added to this has been the lack of focus in promotional work. It might do the trade, now pressing their dark suits for yet another World Travel Mart to see how neighbouring countries - the Maldives, India and Thailand - all affected by the tsunami, are gearing themselves post-tsunami. Thailand's Prime Minister has ordered the national airline to provide free tickets for all families who were at Phuket beach that fateful Boxing Day last year when the tsunami struck, for a Memorial Service on December 26 - something that will undoubtedly send a message to the four corners of the world. The Maldives advertises regularly in the western media, especially in the UK for upmarket tourists. SriLankan Airlines is piggy-backing on this booming business by taking passengers to the Maldive Islands. Our hotels are starved of tourists. If tourism is a big money-earner and whatever Government or whoever the President that is elected is serious about it, then at least the long overdue Tourism Authority is now in place. But what often happens is that the President or the Minister appoints 'some political catcher' or relative, an unqualified person to head such an Authority and puts paid to the best laid plans. The tea trade is quite content with the cess fund of Rs. 2.50 per exported kilo for the promotion abroad. But here again, there's so much to be done. Ceylon Tea has all but vanished from the lexicon of the quality tea markets of the world. We have failed to maintain the goodwill of that mark acquired over a century of tea production and rely heavily on sales to former Soviet Union, sometimes unsure whether payments would be made. There are several other such cess funds, for a Road Safety Tax for instance, but no-one knows how the monies are disbursed. It is largely up to the industry - and in the case of the Road Safety Tax, everyone, as they are road users facing the onslaught from errant private bus drivers and crazy three-wheel drivers - to ensure these monies are well spent. Similarly the registration fee paid to the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment by migrant workers, who send US$ 1 billion in foreign exhange annually, used for workers' insurance and other needs. The good side is that there is some degree of bipartisan agreement among different industries irrespective of which party wins the elections, but the downside is we wouldn't want all these cess funds to end up wasted - like they were under the interregnum period of the Tourism Authority. |
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