Tourists and local communities
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It was that time of the day when Aldoris, the choon-paan karaya, drove his tuk-tuk down the lane with a vehicle filled with breakfast food. “Kohomada (How are you),” he asked the trio. “Api hodin innawa. Mata aranchi ela-valu mila adu wela kiyala. Eka oyata hondai nae (Well, we are fine. I am told that vegetable prices have come down. That must help you),” said Kussi Amma Sera.“Echchara nae (Not much),” he replied. “Mila adu wenney illuma adu nisada (Are prices coming down because there is less demand?” asked Mabel Rasthiyadu. “Minisunta ela-valu mila dara ganna beri athi mae davas wala (Maybe people can’t afford to buy vegetables these days),” said Serapina.
It appears some vegetable prices, not all, have come down. At the Pettah market, a kilo of carrot was selling at Rs. 460 two weeks back, down from Rs. 770 a month ago, tomato was at Rs. 330 compared to Rs. 670 earlier while pumpkin was at Rs. 170 compared to Rs. 196 before.
Today’s discussion is however on tourism, a much-talked of topic these days, as this sector is on a roll. According to official data, January to May 2025 tourist arrivals rose by nearly 15 per cent to 1.03 million from 896,779 in 2024. Earnings from tourism rose nearly 10 per cent to US$1.54 billion from $1.40 billion in the same 2024 months.
Calling today was Arthika, my nonsensical economist friend also known as good-for-nothing Somey, who wanted to discuss tourism trends. “I say, tourism is having a good run these days,” he said. “It is, but I must add an element of caution to what politicians are saying these days which doesn’t fit the tourism profile,” I said.
“What do you mean,” he asked. “Well, last week, Tourism Deputy Minister Prof. Ruwan Ranasinghe had told reporters that there was no need for a nation branding campaign and that such promotions can be done at travel fairs. He has said that it’s a ‘myth’ that tourists won’t come without a campaign,” I said.
“But that’s not correct. One of my learned friends in the industry said that tourism fairs are becoming redundant – we go to show our faces and that we are ‘alive’,” he said. “Absolutely! Attendance at these fairs is an effort to get reconnected and ensure current business. To increase tourist arrivals, you definitely need a new campaign,” I said.
Sri Lanka is aiming for 2.5 million arrivals this year and targeting 5 million in coming years, an effort which requires a proper nation branding campaign, which the government needs to acknowledge and which the industry has been pushing for a long time, particularly since government revenue through the tourism cess is funded entirely by the industry.
On the other hand, do we have a game plan for tourism? The simple answer is: No! What is the plan to receive 5 million tourists in the coming years? Is it just a numbers game?
Another aspect is over-tourism or over-visitation, which Europe is experiencing these days and drawing an angry response from local residents who are campaigning against high rentals (caused by demand from tourists) and a higher cost of living.
It was reported that Sri Lanka Tourism plans to unlock 3,000 acres of land to drive foreign investment in tourism. Have we thought this out properly? Is it a case of the blind leading the blind?
For example, shouldn’t we look at our current hardware (room numbers), assess the demand in 5 years (if its 5 million arrivals) and work backwards as to how many new rooms should be added to the current infrastructure to meet this demand, rather than blindly offering land for investment and new rooms instead of gauging the demand in 5-10 years and then attracting investments – instead of having excess rooms?
The government also needs to assess the room inventory from the unorganised sector such as unregistered guest houses, homes and Airbnb-type homes and add this to the current registered number of hotel rooms to get an idea of the current inventory. Furthermore, Sri Lanka needs to come to terms with over-visitation, before we face situations now being experienced in Europe, and build a sustainable product. There is a need to promote other attractions instead of only Sirigiya and Yala, which are facing stress these days as the footfall is rising and causing management issues.
Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairman Buddhika Hewawasam seems to be on the right track and stressing points that we are suggesting today.
At a recent media conference, he said the country’s growth strategy must prioritise sustainability over volume. “When we promote tourism, we also need to think about how many tourists our country can handle at one time. We want to increase tourist numbers from three million to about eight million in the next five years, but we must do it carefully and sustainably,” he said. Wise words indeed!
We can indeed learn from the European experience and attract a mix of bag packers, individual travellers, organised travellers (in groups) and high-end visitors. We need to attract both the top-end and bottom-end of the market and ensure, in the process, a sustainable sector.
According to recent media reports, campaigners in at least a dozen tourist hotspots across southern Europe have taken to the streets to protest against “touristification”. It is the most widespread joint action to date against what they see as the steady reshaping of their cities to meet the needs of tourists rather than people who live and work there, according to the UK’s Guardian newspaper.
Thus, Sri Lanka in fact is in a unique position of learning from other experiences in Europe and must develop a product that not only attracts numbers but also is able to sustain the industry. For example, do we have enough food to meet the needs of both the local population and foreign visitors? Or do we have to import food? Furthermore, a shortage of food would inevitably result in hotels paying more for local produce, leading to prices of vegetables and other food being pushed up at the expense of local consumers. In local food demand, the hotels and resorts call the shots, which shouldn’t be the case.
Winding up, here is my thought for the week: Tourism authorities need to prepare a forward-looking game plan that would consider all the aspects mentioned above – so that local communities appreciate the benefits of tourism, help them in terms of employment generation, sale of their local produce and add to the country’s foreign exchange earnings.
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