Is the best or the worst… yet to come?
Since April 21st this year, Sri Lanka’ tourism industry has struggled to survive after been bought down to its knees by the horrific attacks on that Easter Sunday.
Before that fateful day, and after the cessation of the over three decade war in 2010, tourism was thriving, although the government, more by deed than word, continued to under-appreciate the impact of the tourism sector on the economy.
As efforts get underway to lift the industry back on its feet, questions arise as to whether those who drive the initiatives to revive tourism are willing to keep on walking rather than merely stand still?
Global promotion
The two month - Public relations (PR) and six month Global promotion campaign to boost the country’s image, post Easter Sunday, scheduled for rollout in mid-july, has yet again been delayed. The Minister of Tourism is to go to Cabinet once again to formalise and fastrack full government sanction to go ahead. No specific date as to when the two campaigns would be launched has been disclosed. All this has caused further consternation, where ‘fastrack’ takes on a totally different meaning in the Sri Lankan context.
Meanwhile, a leading strategy consultation firm has opined that “Sri Lanka tourism needs strategic clarity, with buy-in from all stakeholders, before rushing into grand campaigns’. At the recently held “Let’s build local to go global” one keynote speaker urged the industry not to relax until the proposed marketing campaigns and other initiatives get off the ground”, going on to add “Anyone who thinks or says that things are improving is speaking utter rubbish”. Another speaker opined that the tagline ‘So Sri Lanka’ did not make any sense and had no value – unlike other taglines such as ‘Truly Asia’ or ‘Incredible India’ which are by themselves, self-explanatory.
Free visa
The Prime Minister has pointed out that measures taken thus far, such as free visas on arrival for visitors from 48 countries (effective August 2019) and tax reductions on hotel room rates will make it easier for travellers. The Minister of Tourism says that they will review the free visa initiative after six months and suspend this programme if it is not beneficial. The Immigration and Emmigration Controller General estimates a loss of Rs 4.3 billion in revenue due to the free visa exercise.
PRIME MINISTER HAS POINTED OUT THAT MEASURES TAKEN THUS FAR WILL MAKE IT EASIER FOR TRAVELLERS
The Premier also mentioned that the reduction in ground handling and fuel charges for airlines will be more profitable for airlines to come in. Lower handling fees and fuel charges may encourage airlines currently using Colombo to not make any drastic changes. However, airlines look at the overall financial performance on any route and whether there is enough demand for the route to drive profiterbility.
Following a face-off between board members representing the private sector and officials of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), where the private sector had insisted that they were not productive, all roadshows have been cancelled. ASMET (the Association representing small & medium tourism providers), on the other hand, opposes this move, claiming that being small businesses, roadshows are vital to them as participating in trade fairs is too costly.
The head of the CG Corp Group – which has extensive investments in the tourism sector in Sri Lanka, wants the private sector to be more proactive. In his message, he says “For my friends in the private sector who are resilient and also tolerant, I stress that there are times when they have to rise, get united, and if required bang the table and fight for their rights.
Skeptics say that this is asking a lot from the trade – especially the hoteliers who, when the going was good, made, baked and ate the cake. Now, the industry is expecting the government to make, bake and feed them the cake.
We need to stop sweating the small stuff and start focusing on those long overdue, long term goals. If we don’t do that, cheer up, with elections around the corner… “The worst is yet to come”
(The writer is the Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Trainer, Ex-hotelier)