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Tour guides may be forced to quit if no redress, warns union
The devastating impact of COVID-19 on the tourism industry could see qualified, licensed tourist guides quitting the field altogether if urgent action is not taken to assist them, a union representing the country’s top tier tourist guides warned.
A significant number of tour guides are university graduates and many are proficient in multiple languages. (file pic)
According to the Sri Lanka Institute of National Tourist Guide Lecturers (SLINTGL), tourist guides have been among the hardest hit in the industry. Three tour guides contracted COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic while working with tour groups. One of the guides subsequently died, Dr Mahesh Priyadarshana, the SLINTGL President told the Sunday Times. “We have no insurance scheme for guides and we don’t get any EPF/ETF benefits. So, there is no safety net if a guide dies while engaged in their work,” he explained.
The SLINTGL with a membership of 1536 makes up the top tier of registered tourist guides in the country, licensed to handle any number of tourists from seven upwards. There are also other types of guides, such as chauffeur guides, area guides and site guides who can handle a less number of tourists.
The SLINTGL was among the first to call on the government to ban inbound travel, despite knowing that it would affect their own livelihood, Dr Priyadarshana added. They have been undergoing severe economic difficulties during the past months, as local tour operators, known as Destination Management Companies (DMCs), have largely looked the other way, he alleged. “When one tourist guide contracted COVID-19, a particular DMC even claimed that the guide was a freelancer and was not employed by them, though he had worked with them on tours for years. Certain media too played a part, demonising us as carriers of the virus.”
The pandemic was a serious blow to tourism that was only just starting to pick up after last year’s Easter Sunday terrorist attacks. While the Government is planning to open the country’s airports to tourists from August 1, Dr Priyadarshana believes it will take many months for the sector to recover. “Even though our airports may open, many countries remain under lockdown due to the pandemic. I don’t see a lot of tourists travelling in the current climate.”
With no work in the tourism sector, tourist guides are forced to turn to other work to survive. Dr Priyadarshana noted that National Tourist Guide Lecturers are highly qualified. A significant number are university graduates and many are proficient in multiple languages. “We are working for the national interest. The impression a tourist forms regarding the country depends a lot on our professionalism. If we are forced to give up on this field, it is the country’s image that will suffer as unqualified and unregistered persons will step in to fill the void,” he warned.
Tour guides are also not eligible to obtain any of the loans announced by the Government for those affected by COVID-19 as they have no collateral or EPF/ETF. As such, Dr Priyadarshana said they had requested authorities to at least introduce a mechanism to grant them a soft loan at 4% interest through the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA).
The SLINTGL head stated that the SLTDA however, has worked hard to assist the tourist guides. Thanks to efforts of SLTDA Chairperson Kimarli Fernando and Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunge, the Cabinet has now approved a relief package for 144,117 persons in the tourism industry who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of this package, registered tourist guides will receive a one-time only payment of Rs 20,000 while a Rs 15,000 one-time payment will be made to registered chauffeur guides.
The SLTDA also waived off the renewal fee for the licence of tourist guides for this year and the Government has been open to implementing an insurance scheme for tourist guides, Dr Priyadarshana stated. “We are thankful to SLTDA Chairperson Kimarli Fernando in particular, as well as Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunge, for their efforts. We hope swift action will follow now that some proposals have received Cabinet approval,” he added.
The SLTDA will take measures to deposit the one time payment directly to the bank accounts of registered tourist guides, Kimarli Fernando stated. “We are contacting tourist guide associations to obtain details of their members. We are also working to trace guides who are not part of any association. Simultaneously, we are also looking at the possibility of extending the payment to guides registered with provincial authorities as they currently issue licences to area guides, site guides and some chauffeur guides,” she explained.
There had not been much coordination between the SLTDA and provincial authorities in the past, but Ms Fernando said her administration intends to change that. “We are pleased with the response and some of the provinces are already cooperating closely with us and have agreed to follow our syllabus when training tourist guides. We will also look to do more to promote tourism in the various provinces.”
Introducing an insurance scheme for tourist guides was something she was keen on even before COVID-19, the SLTDA chairperson claimed, citing the death of a tourist guide in January as one reason that spurred the authority to move forward on it. “We are talking to various potential funding agencies. We want it to cover all tourist guides, but they would need to show proof that they are working in the field.”
One area where progress has stalled is regarding the minimum fee for registered tour guides. At present, tour guides get a minimum of Rs 2,500 a day. The SLTDA had proposed to the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO), the collective body representing DMCs, that this be increased to USD 35 (About Rs 6,500) a day. SLAITO though, rejected the request citing the prevailing crisis in the tourism industry.
SLAITO Chief Operating Officer Kumuda Eramudugolla told the Sunday Times that their representatives had a meeting with the Secretary to the Tourism Ministry recently and explained that such an increase was not possible right now. “We noted that we can consider it next year,” he said.
Dr Priyadarshana though, questioned why SLAITO was against the idea of increasing tourist guide fees when the DMCs aren’t the ones paying. “The fee is paid by the tourists. Our guides are currently among the lowest paid in the world. We are professionals doing a service and our contribution is being devalued by being forced to settle for such a meagre fee. We aren’t asking to be paid for sitting around doing nothing. If the tourists don’t come, then we won’t get paid, but if they do come, then we should be paid a justifiable fee for the services we provide.”
Dr Priyadarshana also pointed out that a daily fee of USD 35 means that if a guide was handling a group of 35 tourists, each would only have to contribute one US Dollar. “The President is talking about prioritising getting down high spending tourists. I fail to see how anyone can say a tourist cannot afford to spend one dollar a day on their guide.”
SLTDA Chairperson agreed on the need to increase the daily fee. “The tour guides are basically ambassadors for our country and work long hours on tours. SLAITO has strongly resisted calls to increase the daily fee but I firmly believe it should be increased as it would not be sustainable for guides to keep working at such a low rate. We should give dignity to the service they provide,” she insisted.
Tour guides may be forced to quit if no redress, warns union
By Sandun Jayawardana
The devastating impact of COVID-19 on the tourism industry could see qualified, licensed tourist guides quitting the field altogether if urgent action is not taken to assist them, a union representing the country’s top tier tourist guides warned.
According to the Sri Lanka Institute of National Tourist Guide Lecturers (SLINTGL), tourist guides have been among the hardest hit in the industry. Three tour guides contracted COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic while working with tour groups. One of the guides subsequently died, Dr Mahesh Priyadarshana, the SLINTGL President told the Sunday Times. “We have no insurance scheme for guides and we don’t get any EPF/ETF benefits. So, there is no safety net if a guide dies while engaged in their work,” he explained.
The SLINTGL with a membership of 1536 makes up the top tier of registered tourist guides in the country, licensed to handle any number of tourists from seven upwards. There are also other types of guides, such as chauffeur guides, area guides and site guides who can handle a less number of tourists.
The SLINTGL was among the first to call on the government to ban inbound travel, despite knowing that it would affect their own livelihood, Dr Priyadarshana added. They have been undergoing severe economic difficulties during the past months, as local tour operators, known as Destination Management Companies (DMCs), have largely looked the other way, he alleged. “When one tourist guide contracted COVID-19, a particular DMC even claimed that the guide was a freelancer and was not employed by them, though he had worked with them on tours for years. Certain media too played a part, demonising us as carriers of the virus.”
The pandemic was a serious blow to tourism that was only just starting to pick up after last year’s Easter Sunday terrorist attacks. While the Government is planning to open the country’s airports to tourists from August 1, Dr Priyadarshana believes it will take many months for the sector to recover. “Even though our airports may open, many countries remain under lockdown due to the pandemic. I don’t see a lot of tourists travelling in the current climate.”
With no work in the tourism sector, tourist guides are forced to turn to other work to survive. Dr Priyadarshana noted that National Tourist Guide Lecturers are highly qualified. A significant number are university graduates and many are proficient in multiple languages. “We are working for the national interest. The impression a tourist forms regarding the country depends a lot on our professionalism. If we are forced to give up on this field, it is the country’s image that will suffer as unqualified and unregistered persons will step in to fill the void,” he warned.
Tour guides are also not eligible to obtain any of the loans announced by the Government for those affected by COVID-19 as they have no collateral or EPF/ETF. As such, Dr Priyadarshana said they had requested authorities to at least introduce a mechanism to grant them a soft loan at 4% interest through the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA).
The SLINTGL head stated that the SLTDA however, has worked hard to assist the tourist guides. Thanks to efforts of SLTDA Chairperson Kimarli Fernando and Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunge, the Cabinet has now approved a relief package for 144,117 persons in the tourism industry who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of this package, registered tourist guides will receive a one-time only payment of Rs 20,000 while a Rs 15,000 one-time payment will be made to registered chauffeur guides.
The SLTDA also waived off the renewal fee for the licence of tourist guides for this year and the Government has been open to implementing an insurance scheme for tourist guides, Dr Priyadarshana stated. “We are thankful to SLTDA Chairperson Kimarli Fernando in particular, as well as Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunge, for their efforts. We hope swift action will follow now that some proposals have received Cabinet approval,” he added.
The SLTDA will take measures to deposit the one time payment directly to the bank accounts of registered tourist guides, Kimarli Fernando stated. “We are contacting tourist guide associations to obtain details of their members. We are also working to trace guides who are not part of any association. Simultaneously, we are also looking at the possibility of extending the payment to guides registered with provincial authorities as they currently issue licences to area guides, site guides and some chauffeur guides,” she explained.
There had not been much coordination between the SLTDA and provincial authorities in the past, but Ms Fernando said her administration intends to change that. “We are pleased with the response and some of the provinces are already cooperating closely with us and have agreed to follow our syllabus when training tourist guides. We will also look to do more to promote tourism in the various provinces.”
Introducing an insurance scheme for tourist guides was something she was keen on even before COVID-19, the SLTDA chairperson claimed, citing the death of a tourist guide in January as one reason that spurred the authority to move forward on it. “We are talking to various potential funding agencies. We want it to cover all tourist guides, but they would need to show proof that they are working in the field.”
One area where progress has stalled is regarding the minimum fee for registered tour guides. At present, tour guides get a minimum of Rs 2,500 a day. The SLTDA had proposed to the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO), the collective body representing DMCs, that this be increased to USD 35 (About Rs 6,500) a day. SLAITO though, rejected the request citing the prevailing crisis in the tourism industry.
SLAITO Chief Operating Officer Kumuda Eramudugolla told the Sunday Timesthat their representatives had a meeting with the Secretary to the Tourism Ministry recently and explained that such an increase was not possible right now. “We noted that we can consider it next year,” he said.
Dr Priyadarshana though, questioned why SLAITO was against the idea of increasing tourist guide fees when the DMCs aren’t the ones paying. “The fee is paid by the tourists. Our guides are currently among the lowest paid in the world. We are professionals doing a service and our contribution is being devalued by being forced to settle for such a meagre fee. We aren’t asking to be paid for sitting around doing nothing. If the tourists don’t come, then we won’t get paid, but if they do come, then we should be paid a justifiable fee for the services we provide.”
Dr Priyadarshana also pointed out that a daily fee of USD 35 means that if a guide was handling a group of 35 tourists, each would only have to contribute one US Dollar. “The President is talking about prioritising getting down high spending tourists. I fail to see how anyone can say a tourist cannot afford to spend one dollar a day on their guide.”
SLTDA Chairperson agreed on the need to increase the daily fee. “The tour guides are basically ambassadors for our country and work long hours on tours. SLAITO has strongly resisted calls to increase the daily fee but I firmly believe it should be increased as it would not be sustainable for guides to keep working at such a low rate. We should give dignity to the service they provide,” she insisted.