Tourism industry requires new thinking, says former Sri Lanka Tourism chief
View(s):Sri Lanka Tourism requires a full year seasonal travel plan with adequate promotions and increased number of related activities to cater to the growing demand of the discerning holidaymaker to the island.
Retired diplomat and Director of the MMBL Pathfinder organisation Bernard Goonetilleke in an interview with the Business Times said last week that with the country marketed as a destination that caters to the peak season during winter it could also attract the traveller to visit the East during the rest of the year.
He noted that since tourism commenced in the mid 1960s Sri Lanka was a winter destination eyeing visitors from the UK, France, Germany and the Nordic countries and later Russia entered the country, ending the season in March.
This, Mr. Goonetilleke (a former Sri Lanka Tourism Chairman) explained was mainly because the East was inaccessible to tourists but the situation has today changed since the government adopted infrastructural development changes.
He explained that south from Trincomalee, if a traveller should head to Passikudah they could do so through the Habarana junction and then trace back to the East coast through Polonnaruwa taking another half a day.
The East coast is expected to become the next Gold Coast of Australia, he said adding that this was mostly due to the fact that the destination was accessible by road, rail and air.
In this respect, he noted that they would have to ensure that the country was promoted and marketed for its East coast development and new tourism opportunities.
Mr. Goonetilleke explained that in addition, the country should encourage increased activities in attempting to attract tourists similar to other destinations like Malaysia, Singapore, China and Thailand.
A second level industry was required to ensure that there were an increased number of activities, he said.
Commenting on the use of the Tourism Cess fund, he explained that while it was necessary to focus on infrastructure development it was imperative that promotion of the destination be carried out in a bid to attract the right number of arrivals to the country.
He also made pointed concerns that although the number of arrivals increased to 1.27 million last year it had not reflected in the accommodation registered numbers which meant most travellers would be found staying in the small accommodation units.
It was pointed out that with the Tourism Development Authority not revising its figures investors would continue their building activities to increase room capacity in the country to meet the required targets of the country.
However, this was expected to generate an increased number of rooms in the country that could have a negative impact since last year’s figures alone indicate that travellers were not living in the traditional hotel rooms but in other smaller accommodation units.
He made these observations based on the recently reported statistics from Sri Lanka Tourism that indicated there would be approximately 45,000 new rooms to meet this expected demand. At that time in 2009 the actual rooms registered were less 15,000. The industry stepped up and made investments for increasing the rooms.
Mr. Goonetilleke said that with the expected 2851 new rooms next year the target was for 1554 and in 2016 for 901 rooms that would generate 5315 new rooms coming into the industry. Currently close to 26,000 rooms are registered in the country, he said.
(SD)