Impunity for state tourism officials
Sri Lanka’s new draft Tourism Act has come in for sharp criticism from tourism stakeholders as the proposed new law grants impunity for state officials for any act carried out in “good faith.”
Part 22 titled “Miscellaneous Provisions” of the draft Act Section 89 (1) states, “No suit or prosecution shall lie against any member, officer, staff or agent of the Authority for any act which in good faith is done or purported to be done by him under this Act or any regulation or rule made thereunder or on the direction of the Authority.”
This clearly indicates that the officers of the Authority are trying to obtain immunity for any act carried out in “good faith”, industry stakeholders noted.
They pointed out that this is a serious concern since it clearly highlights that officials cannot be tried in a court of law for acts they carry out in their capacities as officials at the Sri Lanka Tourism Authority, which clearly supersedes the law of the land.
In other tourism news, a few charter flights continue to operate into Sri Lanka and tourists mainly from Kazhakastan arrive about 160 on every flight with about 600 clients per week, tourism industry sources said.
Though there continues to be an increase month on month, inbound operators point out that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is having an effect since it is spreading in other countries. Tourism industry officials pointed out that due to the restrictions on dollars they can’t rule out more airlines pulling out of Colombo. In fact, it was noted that attending travel fairs will also in future be an issue since all transactions are carried out in dollars.
Food shortage in Sri Lanka?
Tourists are still coming into the country but the increasing reports on a possible food shortage and the issues on problems in purchasing essentials has become an embarrassment.
Today tour operators reading news from Sri Lanka are asking local travel agents whether tourists can still holiday in the country due to the sudden spike in prices and shortage of foods.
The publicity on the shortage of food and other essentials has got the rest of the world wondering how Sri Lanka is coping, industry sources said.
In fact travel agents are concerned that Sri Lanka could turn out to become more expensive than its competitors in the region due to the rising cost of living, thereby being more difficult to market.
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