Sri Lanka’s tourist transport service providers demand duty free vehicles
Sri Lanka’s inbound tourism transport sector is struggling to survive in the midst of a depleting vehicle fleet and the neglect of sustainable practices in the tourist transport service, industry officials disclosed.
They blamed the Tourism Ministry and Treasury authorities for not making any attempt to strengthen the tourist transport service by providing incentives for service providers enabling them to increase the vehicle fleet and by introducing green environmentally-friendly cars and vans to attract travellers while protecting the environment.
The need to increase the tourist transport vehicle fleet has been brought to the notice of authorities by the Chauffeur Tourist Guide Lecturers’ Association of Sri Lanka (CTGLA) on many occasions but it was unheeded, Ranjith Sudasinghe, Assistant Secretary of the Association told the Business Times.
“Our association is a body of professionals trained and licensed by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority and has been functioning for over two decades,” he said, adding that a vast majority of their members engage in providing their vehicles along with guide services to foreign tourists visiting our country.
The total investment by the Chauffeur Guides in providing these facilities had been nearly Rs.3 billion, he revealed.
He disclosed that their association has made a request recently to Treasury Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera to grant them import licences with duty free concessions for the import of economical and environmentally-friendly passenger cars and vans for tourist transport, under the strict guidance of the Ministry of Finance and Planning and the Ministry of Tourism.
He pointed out that duty free permits are being given to politicians, state officials, and Buddhist monks, etc and this facility should also be extended for tourist transport service providers who earn much needed foreign exchange for the country. He added that it is the Chauffeur Tourist Guides who account for the airport pickup, inland transport and eventually airport drop of over 80 per cent of the tourists who visit Sri Lanka.
He revealed that the association president Srilal Munasinge has also written to the Director, National Council for Economic Development, Department of National Planning of the Ministry of Finance and Planning inquiring into the present status of their proposal.
Mr. Sudasinghe said that the Treasury Secretary was mum about their request without even sending a reply to their request even on the eve of presidential elections and such attitudes will not be favourable for the government at this decisive moment.