| Business |
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Boosting
tourism
as one of the
key industries in its development programme. The initiative taken
by the government to sign a MoU with the LTTE to restore peace in
the country is also a major step towards creating an environment
conducive to promote our tourist industry. Given the resources
available, Sri Lanka has tremendous potential to gain from this
industry by way of fostering foreign exchange earnings, employment
and income levels. The contribution of the traditional plantation
crop sector, except the tea industry, to the economy has deteriorated
considerably. The contribution that the garment industry can make
to the development of our country is also limited in the long run. The dependence
on export of labour, particularly to the Middle East as housemaids,
as a source of foreign exchange earnings is also not a healthy factor
for Sri Lanka as a respectable independent nation. In this context
the role that tourism could play should be given very high priority,
as it is one of the most promising industries, which could make
a very effective contribution to economic development. It is also
important to note that with proper planning and controls being established,
the country should be able to develop tourism without sacrificing
the socio-cultural values of our society. The multitude of natural
resources, bio-diversity and the unmatched cultural heritage has
given Sri Lanka a very prominent place in the world tourism map. Outlook With proper
development of facilities required for high income level foreign
independent travellers (FIT) there is no doubt that Sri Lanka can
attract tourists from all parts of the world. In this region itself
there are two major potential markets, India and China, which already
have over 500 million potential tourists who are capable of taking
a trip to Sri Lanka. Although this
promising outlook for tourism development is quite evident, we cannot
forget that Sri Lanka has failed badly to harness this potential
during the past 30 years. A target of 874,000 arrivals by 2001 was
set by the Tourism Master Plan which was prepared in 1993 by the
UNDP in association with the World Tourism Organisation. However, in
spite of the fact that continued attention has been paid to develop
this industry since the establishment of the Ceylon Tourist Board
in 1966, the country could not achieve even 500,000 arrivals in
any one year during this period. Although Sri Lanka could not reap
the full benefits from tourism during this period, some of our neighbouring
countries like Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand and even the Maldives
were able to achieve very high growth rates in tourist arrivals
during the past 20 years. For example Malaysia was able to receive
eight million tourists in 1999. While the war
situation prevailed in the North and East and related disturbances
in other parts of the country were the main reason for our failure
to reap the full benefits from tourism in the past, the weaknesses
seen in the tourism marketing plan during this period should also
be held with equal responsibility for this failure. Now that the
war situation is expected to end, a proper understanding of the
factors affecting the development of tourism is of very high importance
as no room whatsoever should be left for the country to fail again
in reaping the full benefits of this vital industry. The objective
of this article is to identify and analyze some of the key issues
to be taken into account in Sri Lanka's tourism marketing plan under
the present circumstances. FITs vs
groups To promote
independent travel it is necessary to offer more independent services
to cater to their needs, which have to be taken care of. Some examples
of these services would be the opportunity for the tourists to arrive
here by an airline of their choice, free availability of a standardised
taxi service, availability of standardised and economical tour services
to places of interest in the country. Be competitive Past weaknesses In shopping
the tour guides and the drivers took them to the shops giving the
highest commission without looking after the interests of the tourists
in terms of the quality of products purchased and the reasonableness
of the prices paid. The spice gardens established in the Matale
area became more a nuisance to the tourists than an attraction as
they were not well organised and did not maintain a high level of
service orientation. There was no
reliable taxi service available at the airport. The vehicles provided
by the Airport Transport Providers' Association were mostly vans
that couldn't satisfy the needs of the tourists. Sri Lanka also
has failed to contain the adverse publicity mainly on child prostitution
given in travel related newspapers and websites particularly in
European countries causing serious damage to the image of Sri Lanka
as a good visitor destination. Standards
and service (a) Transport:
In countries where tourism has been developed the transport services
available are of a very high standard. A good example would be the
taxi service available in Singapore. It is a highly regulated, standardised,
reliable, economical and efficient service available to any visitor
or a local person with equal treatment. The bus and railway services
are also available at the same level of efficiency at competitive
prices to give the traveller the best possible ground transport
service at the airport and in all other places in the country. Although it
would be difficult to provide a similar ground transport service
in Sri Lanka in the short run, it is very necessary that a standardised,
reliable and reasonably priced taxi service is provided at the airport,
at all hotels and at all tourist centres. To provide
a customer oriented service it would be essential to provide metered
taxis with voluntary driver identification facility, proper training
and a reasonable salary for the drivers. Proper bus and train services
and three wheeler services will also have to play their role in
the tourist industry as ground transport providers. With regard
to taxi and three-wheeler services, what has happened in our country
is that the tourists as well as the local people have lost confidence
in these services as they fail to provide a standardised service
at a reasonable price. Due to this loss of confidence the demand
for these services have gone down resulting in a low capacity utilisation.
In addition
to the improvements required in the regular ground transport services,
it is also necessary to offer independent internal tour services
on a regular basis in the form of one, two or three day tours to
places like Kandy, Galle and Ratnapura. Independent
internal tour services of this nature are essential to promote the
independent traveller category. Such services are important because
all independent travellers cannot be expected to use separate vehicles
for long distance travel within the country. (b) Hotels:
The services offered at the hotels should be improved with adequate
individual attention to the tourists where necessary and give them
the opportunity to taste local varieties of food, particularly all
varieties of fruits available in Sri Lanka. In Thailand and Malaysia
the regular supply of a wide variety of tropical fruits has become
a major attraction for tourists to visit these countries. In the past
there have been many complaints from tourists regarding the non-availability
of certain food items in the hotels, particularly tropical fruits,
which are freely available in the markets and fruit sellers on the
roadways. For instance, some complaints show that pineapple has
been served as desert for both lunch and dinner. Therefore it is
necessary that these lethargic and indifferent attitudes be changed
to satisfy tourists to the best possible level. (c) Shopping
and markets: As a factor of high level of service orientation it
is also necessary to give the tourists a free market environment
for them to buy what they like to buy from our country. To get a
good income by selling goods to tourists, it is necessary to apply
more modern technology to improve the quality of products that we
produce to sell to tourists. At the same
time it is also necessary to establish free market centres where
the goods are price marked competitively and common to both locals
as well as tourists. Further, there should be freedom for the tourists
to make their own buying decisions by discouraging commission-based
selling to tourists through tour guides and drivers. Common facilities Furthermore,
when facilities provided for tourism are made available to both
foreign as well as local tourists on an equal footing, it would
motivate locals to engage more on tourism related activities. By
developing better entertainment and recreation facilities in places
like Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Bandarawela, Haputale and in suitable
beach resorts it is possible to attract a large number of locals
to generate good business in the travel industry. The facilities
that should be provided to the locals should be similar to the facilities
available at places like Genting Highlands in Malaysia and man made
visitor attractions in countries like Australia which can accommodate
a large number of visitors for various sports and entertainment
activities. Co-ordinating
body If the Tourist
Board were to be given this responsibility it would be necessary
to revamp the Board suitably to provide the skilled staff needed
to perform this function satisfactorily. Training
service providers Since training
in attitudes and values is more time consuming and more difficult
it is necessary that proper facilities are provided for this purpose.
Proper training for all staff in the hotel industry, staff at the
airport including customs officers and security staff, taxi drivers,
tour guides and drivers, staff at restaurants and shops is essential
for Sri Lanka to build its reputation as a good visitor destination. Infrastructure
and environment Providing good
public parks is also very useful for Sri Lanka to develop the country
as a good visitor destination. Within the cities as well as along
all major highways public parks should be developed with sufficient
space for parking of vehicles with proper toilet facilities and
also with other facilities required by travellers. Discipline Even if the war situation is over we should improve the discipline in the ground transport systems consisting of taxis, three-wheelers, buses, motor cycles, etc, else tourists may not feel free to travel in our country in the manner that they would like to travel. Open violation of traffic rules by most drivers in our country has discouraged the tourists to use services like rent-a-car service in our country. The facilities
available to and the interest taken by the traffic police to manage
traffic in our country cannot be considered satisfactory and should
be improved to meet today's requirements. Visitor
Information Centres Tips and
commissions Conclusion Development of a proper marketing plan for tourism is considered very essential to achieve a high growth rate in the industry annually at least for the next 10 years. While development
of tourism can make a great impact on the development of the country,
including the Northern and the Eastern regions, it will also be
very helpful in the promotion of communal harmony and national integration.
Furthermore,
the action taken to develop the tourist industry will also have
a positive impact on the development of other aspects of the economy
such as the infrastructure, environment and the transport system,
which are very essential to accelerate the growth of the economy. (The writer is a retired senior official of the Central Bank with an MBA from Hawaii where he undertook a research study on tourism.) |
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