40 colonial buildings in Fort to be redeveloped, PM says
A foreign visitor is overjoyed by local handicrafts.
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry began tourism ahead of many other countries but its tourism promotion has been lagging behind, according Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, when he made the keynote speech at the 50th anniversary celebrations of Sri Lanka Tourism at the BMICH in Colombo last week. “We are looking not merely at volume but I am going to give priority to value. In the next 20 years there will be nearly 3 billion people in the region. We need the Asians, Chinese, Europeans, Australians and the growing middle and upper middle class people to visit the country.
Sri Lanka has to give an experience to everyone who visits the island and (this should be) not the culture of Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and Burghers alone, but (also) absorb the culture of Greek, Arabian, European and many more,” Mr. Wickremesinghe stated. “Sri Lanka is the first country in the region to start tourism since 1966. At that time 18,969 tourists visited the country with US$1 million revenue. Last year the numbers increased to 1.8 million tourists and resulted in $3 billion revenue. What is the status of the countries that started tourism after Sri Lanka today? Malaysia today has reached up to 25 million tourists visiting the country with $22 billion revenue.
Singapore has 15 million visitors and $19 billion revenue. Maldives has 1.2 million tourists and $3 billion revenue. Why can’t Sri Lanka do better than other countries in the region?” asked Mr. Wickremesinghe. He noted that the Ministry of Megapolis have identified 40 buildings in Fort for development. “We have more projects starting in Colombo. The Ministry of Megapolis have already identified 40 buildings in the old colonial areas in Fort for hotels. And there is much more to come.” All Dutch Forts in Sri Lanka will be set up as tourist hotspots, a minimum of 10 Forts will be looked at for development.
Tourism Minister John Amaratunga poses for a picture. Pix by Amila Gamage
The Chief Minister for Eastern Province has provided space for a mega hotel while boutique hotels are coming up in Uva Wellassa. There is a lot of development taking place in Hambantota and in the south. “We have to promote online tourism, open up our airports to both domestic and international flights. Cruise tourism will be encouraged. Pride of place will be given to investors to start boutique hotels, restaurants,” added Mr. Wickremesinghe. Minister of Tourism Development, Lands and Christian Religious Affairs John Amaratunga said,
“Today the world is rediscovering paradise in Sri Lanka with its beautiful beaches, eight World Heritage sites, culture, bio-diversity, various new adventure tourism offerings and world class hotels. Sri Lanka is emerging as one of the most sought after tourist destinations in the world while tourism is the key driver for the country’s economic growth”. “Our targets are generating 4 million visitors by 2020, increasing revenue to over $5 billion, increasing the national room inventory up to 45,000, large scale employment generation and skills development to raise our service levels to international standards.
This year we are hoping to achieve $3.5 billion revenue by welcoming 2.5 million visitors,” noted Mr. Amaratunga. He said Sri Lanka is no longer marketed as a ‘sun, sea and sand’ destination. Instead the traditional offerings are incorporated in a proposition that also includes adventure-based tourism such as surfing, kite surfing, ballooning, parachuting, sea safaris for whale and dolphin spotting, wildlife safaris, health, wellness, medical tourism and sports tourism such as golf and so on adding both value and diversity to the established products.