European carriers and domestic tourism
View(s):Some significant developments are taking place in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, this year in particular when the country marks its golden jubilee in the organised leisure sector. Two announcements this week should not go unnoticed for many reasons. The return of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to Sri Lanka after a near 20-year absence bodes well for a sector trying to whip up more enthusiasm from Europe while a government plan to promote domestic tourism should whole-heartedly be encouraged by local hoteliers and the travel sector. After the conflict ended in mid-2009, only two European carriers have or announced plans to return. British Airways resumed flights to Colombo and Maldives in April 2013 but exited two years later in March 2015 as the route was not viable. The airline however continues to fly direct to Male.
Austrian Airlines resumes flights in October last year after a 7-year absence, so far the only European carrier to operate direct flights until this week’s announcement that KLM is returning to Colombo with twice weekly flights from the start of the winter season in October. On the contrary, there has been a surfeit of carriers from West Asia (Emirates, Etihad, Qatar, Saudi, Flydubai, etc) not only servicing the labour market but also tourist travel with seamless connections through Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha for the European market. A few Chinese carriers have also entered the Sri Lankan airspace. KLM’s return has got Colombo’s travel trade buzzing as it has convenient ‘through’ access to across North America and South America, providing better options for travellers from US and Canada if considering visiting Colombo.
“I am excited by the return of KLM. This is a massive boost to Sri Lankan tourism particularly for the European and North American sector,” said Ahintha Amerasinghe, Managing Director at Worldlink Travels. Amerasinghe, a travel sector veteran. Equally supportive was Sunil Peiris, Director at Jetwing Travels, who said that with only SriLankan Airlines and Austrian Airlines operating direct flights to Europe, a strong carrier like KLM will be a tremendous boost to the European market. Tourism is booming in post-war Sri Lanka with arrivals targetted at 2.5 million this year while room strength has risen to 28,000 from 14,215, 10 years ago. Revenue from the sector has also soared to US$3.0 billion last year from $349 million in 2009. European travel was hit a couple of years ago due to the recession but is making a comeback.
While Indian and Chinese travellers are the stars of Sri Lanka’s rejuvenated tourism product, the advent of more European carriers will be the vital shot in the arm for increasing business from that continent. Europeans stay longer than Asians and spend more though Chinese visitors to Sri Lanka are also seen as high-spenders. Germany and UK were the biggest source markets for Sri Lanka until India and (very recently) China took over the top spots. Meanwhile the Cabinet decision this week to approve a “See, feel and protect’ campaign to promote Sri Lanka’s domestic tourism is a long-awaited move that should finally herald the “Sri Lankan’ traveller harking back to the days when the old rest houses essentially were used by tired state officials on official outstation visits.
Often the ‘Appu’ managing the place would whisper in the ears of a visitor “Sir there is good venison or wild boar available”. A shot of arrack with this meat as ‘bite’ was the ideal respite after a hard days’ work on the field! During the difficult ‘war’ years, it was Sri Lankans who kept the industry afloat when tourist arrivals dropped sharply. With arrivals in 1982 peaking at 407,230 from just 153,665 in 1977 (when liberal economic policies were introduced) and based on growth, Sri Lanka should have easily topped a million visitors by around the end of the 1980s, if not for the conflict. Arrivals hit a low of 182,620 (1987) and 184,732 (1988), these years being the period when the Indo-Lanka accord was signed, leading to the induction of Indian troops in Sri Lanka.
The recovery since 2009 has been phenomenal but could be even better, as the industry has repeatedly pointed, if the Government fast-tracks the country promotion campaign in overseas markets. While the domestic tourism campaign is linked to the golden jubilee campaign it should not be a one-off promotional event. Similar to the annual international promotion campaigns, equal prominence needs to be given to domestic travellers who form a sizable percentage of the tourism product. In some resort hotels, at least 20 to 30 per cent of the business comes from locals. Long holidays in Sri Lanka are spent vacationing in the South or East while Nuwara Eliya is a must-go for many Colombo dwellers during the hot April-May period.
A new type of accommodation – guesthouses, homestays and chalets – is also encouraging Sri Lankans to visit various parts of the country, as incomes grow and the standard of living is enhanced. Additional focus on the domestic traveller with enticing pricing options may also help Sri Lankans to choose holidays within instead of travelling to popular destinations like Thailand, Malaysia or Singapore, where barring Singapore, visa requirements are getting more and more stringent. Foreign exchange is one of the barometers of growth in the tourism sector but Sri Lankan visitors can help the economy in other ways – increasing employment and village economies. However in improving promoting visits to never-seen-before places for the younger generation of domestic travellers, Sri Lankans should also be conscious of the environment and waste and ensure that protection of culture and the habitat is part of the travel package.