 RE-POSITIONING THE TOURISM INDUSTRY |
Tourism is the fourth largest foreign exchange earning industry in Sri Lanka, and despite adverse publicity in the international media, the island only attracts about 450,000 tourists a year. Furthermore, the tourism industry is working on a concentrated effort to increase the number of tourist arrivals by 10 to 15% in the next few years.
Despite the recent attack by the LTTE on the country’s international airport at Katunayake, leaders of the industry remain optimistic, and the country is in a strong position to work on a planned program to resurrect its tourism industry. Consequently, the Government is closely working with international airport specialists to get the best possible security facilities at the airport.
Concurrently, the Minister of Tourism who is also the Minister of Sports has introduced a new concept to promote tourism, which is strictly related to sports. For example, during the last English cricket tour, which was held in March/April 2001, 10,000 Englishmen came to Sri Lanka along with the cricket team.
"We expect that more tourists would visit the island through various sports events to be hosted by Sri Lanka this year," declares Hon. Lakshman Kiriella, Minister of Tourism and Sports.
The country is more concentrating on niche markets such as adventure travel and eco tourism while in the same time promoting a destination for conventions, seminars, business meetings, and sports events.
Eco-tourism is the future, due to the worldwide increasing tendency to move closer to nature. For example, there are many hotels which promote eco-tourism in Sri Lanka, a prominent one being the Kandalama Hotel, which is owned by the Aitken Spence Group and which won the Green Globe Award this year.
"We have different segments for tourism: culture, nature, adventure and wild life. Another plus is that tourists can travel to many different locations within a few hours - be it the beach, the mountains or cultural sites," Hon. Kiriella says.
Moreover, there are good prospects of improving the facilities and the development of infrastructure through certain projects funded by the United Nations Development Programme and the World Tourism Organization.
Tourism is a private sector industry since hotels are rather owned and built by the private sector. Nevertheless, the Government carries out the monitoring, taxation and various other aspects. Thus, there is enormous potential for new investments in this sector.
"In terms of promoting Sri Lanka as a tourism destination, we conduct tourism promotions in many countries of the world. Recently we had major promotions in India, Mumbai and New Delhi. India has a large middle class, nearing 250 million people who are educated, high spenders and who represent a good target.
Sri Lankan Embassies are very active in countering propaganda and to clearly show that the ethnic conflict is restricted to the north and east of Sri Lanka. Moreover, the country has also launched a few projects to improve road conditions so as to offer better facilities to travellers," Hon. Kiriella says.
The Ceylon Tourist Board (CTB) is the Government arm in promoting tourism in Sri Lanka. Since its inception in 1960s, the Tourist Board has come a long way and has immensely contributed to the development of the tourism industry.
The Board recently employed a result-oriented, dynamic personality as its chairman. Mr. Renton de Alwis who held several international postings and who has a vision to take Sri Lanka's tourism to new heights.
‘The country has begun to look beyond the on-going conflict to the good times ahead,’ says Mr. de Alwis. Moreover, he is very optimistic about the country’s tourism potential despite the war, and he adds: “tourism can also make a contribution to the conflict resolution”.
The industry is being restructured to accommodate more private sector initiatives. It plans to set up a joint venture between the private sector and the Government in the near future, which will be called the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau. This would further drive its initiatives and will also produce funds for promotional need.
The whole idea of tourism is to bring everyone - all the stakeholders, the taxi drivers, the architects, musicians and artists, all under the Sri Lanka Tourism umbrella. Therefore, the Tourist Board acts as a catalyst to bring organisations like the Hotel Association, the Tour Operator Association and all the other main institutions in the tourist industry together so they can work hand in hand.
While promoting the country as a tourism destination, the CTB is in the process of restructuring and repositioning the hospitality industry . The new markets being looked at are: India, China, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan – all very promising markets.
Referring to the image building, the country does not want to hide anything from the international community. The truth is that the county has a war, which has been going on in the north for the past 18 years and in some parts of the East. However, the reality is that Colombo and other tourist areas are quite safe.
An example of a successful story in the industry is the Hilton JAIC Tower, The newest "kid on the block has been in operation since 1997, and has the major apartment facilities in Colombo. Though the concept is a bit different from an ordinary 5-star hotel since it is an apartment hotel, it operates like any other 5-star hotel. Approximately about 200 flats are being rented on a short term as well as on a long-term basis. | General Manager Mr. Carsten Schieck says; "We are a fully fledged 5-star hotel with all supporting facilities. Its facilities include a 24-hour room service, daily house keeping services, three restaurants, a very popular bar, shopping mall, take away shop, beauty/health club, pool, squash and tennis, bell boy concierge, business centre and ball room facilities and outside catering services. The Hilton JAIC Tower is fully owned by a foreign investor - a Japanese company called Japan Asian Investment Corporation. It is one of the largest foreign investment projects in Sri Lanka with US$ 90 million approved by the Board of Investment (BOI), fully owned by JAIC and operated by Hilton International.
"Sri Lanka is indeed one of the most beautiful countries I have been in, the people are genuine and friendly. Its beaches are among the most beautiful in the world. It has diverse attractions from culture to nature and adventure. These are the basic ingredients for a top-class holiday maker," Mr. Schieck says.
In order to be internationally recognized, Sri Lanka needs more international hotel chains. In the long-run, the Hilton would like to see the Sheraton's, the Peninsula's, the Hyatt's or Shangri La's in this country and this kind of commitment would certainly favour Sri Lanka as a prime destination for tourists in Asia.
"There are certainly opportunities in the country which our company has realized long, long ago and I can reassure you that the Hilton International does have a 100% commitment towards Sri Lanka, despite problems in the country", he says.
The tourist attractions that make Sri Lanka such a desirable destination vary from sunny beaches to the cooler hill country, ancient monuments and frescoes to murals, genuine gems to beautiful batiks. Though the country is quite popular for its pristine beaches, it has much more than beaches to offer to any traveller. Its present approach is beyond beaches and into nature, culture and adventure concepts.
 SRI LANKAN BEACHES |
For example, the ruined cities of Sri Lanka take the visitor back through many centuries during which a unique civilization flourished. Anaradhapura, Sigiriya and Polonnaruwa extending from the 3rd century BC to the 12th century AD record a grandeur unsurpassed.
Moreover, the jungles of Sri Lanka abound in a variety of wildlife, which is surprising for an island of its size in the tropics. The elephants and peacock from the Sri Lankan jungles are known examples of the fauna and a visit to the Sri Lankan jungles is to enter a whole new world where nature has largely stayed still.
| WORLD HERITAGE SITES |
Thus, Sri Lanka welcomes every visitor with a smile and gracious gesture of greeting to visit its beautiful sights ranging from beautiful beaches, hills, streams, waterfalls, national parks and wildlife, to the ancient cities archaeological monuments and pilgrimage centres.
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