The new Negombo-No hassling of tourists on the beach

NEGOMBO --No beach boys, no tourists being bugged by young people? That’s the new Negombo? not really. That has been the case for many years. “Bring any tourist to Negombo and we guarantee that he will not be harassed if he decides to take a walk on the streets of Negombo,” says Assistant Secretary of the Tourist Three Wheeler Association of Negombo, Patrick Fernando and many other from the Negombo tourism industry nodded in agreement.

They were discussing industry issues at an event organized by the Responsible Tourism Project (RTP) where beach operators from the Bentota - Beruwala area were hosted in a tour of Negombo, a tourist town with no beach boys, to witness for themselves how the community has organized themselves to sustain themselves through tourism.

“Managers must not be monkeys”, were words of wisdom from Chang See Wen, outgoing General Manager of Riverina Hotel, Beruwala who spoke on how the big players in the tourism industry need to change their mindsets in order to involve the community in the area and move forward.

Mr Chang used the example of a monkey who tries to grasp a banana from a cage but cannot do so, as the opening of the cage is too small and will not allow it to take its hand out with the banana. His metaphor of the monkey and the banana drew peals of laughter from the audience, but ‘holds water’ considering the subject he was speaking of.

The RTP along with the Sri Lanka Tourist Board (SLTB) are engaged in the Learning, Involving and Nurturing Community (LINC) project programme through which beach boys in the Bentota – Beruwala area are trained and organized into groups so that there is no hassling of tourists on the beach, which is a large problem in the area. The project had been successfully carried out by Hotel Riverina but the programme has a mixed reception in the area as some hoteliers are willing to try out the programme and have commenced it in their hotels while some others are staunchly opposed to it. Mr Chang stressed the importance of a mindset change starting right at the top, with the owners, proprietors and directors as well as the managers if this programme is to succeed.

The difference between the larger hotels in Negombo and Beruwala can be seen right on entry as the Beruwala properties are fenced and walled in while the Negombo hotels are open out towards the road and the beach.

The industry in Negombo runs like a well oiled machine with everyone involved, starting from management and proprietors of the big names in the area down to the taxi drivers and beach vendors chipping in to do their part to minimize hassle to the tourist, while the police also do their part. Beach vendors are organized into three trade organizations with colour co-ordinated uniforms indicating the organisation they belong to. They are issued licences by the hotels, which enables the hotels to be in contact with the rest of the community.

Sentiments by Mr Fernando from the Three Wheeler Association of Negombo were echoed by the representatives of all organizations that spoke at the event, emphasizing the organized method of going about their work. A tourist would be greeted by a three wheeler driver if he exits the hotel from the front entrance, and through the back entrance it would most likely be a vendor on the beach. “We do what we can to make their stay comfortable and make them feel secure,” Mr Fernando said, as the actions of every player counts to make their stay pleasant and enjoyable. According to Mr Fernando, the members of his association, which was registered as a trade union in 1965 and has a membership of 65 drivers, has a code of conduct and a constitution, which enables them to take disciplinary action against any member who breaches the code.

Speaking of how the tourism industry came about in Negombo, Saman Kariyakarawana of the Negombo Tourist Taxi Association explained that towards the end of the 1960s when Negombo as a tourist destination was gaining popularity, people didn’t leave their day jobs to enter into tourism. A few members from some families joined. “As a result up to now, people from this area don’t look at a tourist as a get-rich-quick scheme” he said. Mr Kariyakarawana went on to say that policy decisions taken by hotels have helped the community benefit from the industry as well.

“Hotels tried to find jobs for the people of the community so they also embraced the industry” he said. Most important among the reasons for the non existence of beach boys, according to Mr Kariyakarawana is the religious background in the area. With over 45 Catholic churches, four Buddhist temples, four Muslim mosques and three Hindu kovils the area is rich in religious diversity. Around 90% of the community are Catholics who attends mass every Sunday, he explained adding that this along with the fact that hotels were in touch with the Catholic clergy kept the people from straying into nefarious activities.

He pointed at the involvement and the dedication of the police also as a reason for the way the industry works well in the area. Negombo also had problems and tourists were canvassing on the beach at first but in the 1990s, with more and more tour operators complaining to the management of the hotels, the problem was addressed. People engaged in the same trade got together to form associations to make the system more organised and to make the tourists’ experience better. “The police helped a lot,” said Mr Kariyakarawana adding that they were even allowed to make use of the police premises to hold their monthly meetings, which are now held in the hotels.

Since everyone knows everyone else the security in the area is also strengthened. “No outsider can come and engage in any activity on this beach, we would know in an instant and we would inform the police,” Ms Chithra Fernando, a beach vendor said. As the vendor’s constantly walk along the beach they can also alert the hotels if any guests are being swept away she said, adding that seven lives were saved in the past few weeks.

Both Mr Chang and Chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism Renton De Alwis noted that while the Negombo model is excellent it cannot be transplanted as it is in Beruwala as there are cultural differences between the two areas, but both were confident that it can besuccessfully replicated with the necessary modifications.