Tourism on a roll
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Avilla, Avilla, Sinhala Avurudu Avilla (It’s here… it’s here, the Sinhala New Year has arrived). Even though the New Year festivities were long over, this popular Avurudu song was blaring from Aldoris, the choon- paan karaya’s tuk-tuk as he came down the lane early on Tuesday.“Aei oya avurudu sinduwa danney. Avurudu evarai ne (Why are you playing the Avurudu song? The New Year is over),” said Mabel Rasthiyadu.
“Thama ne. Samaharu thama apahu wedata enawa nekath wela-wata. Samahara compani wala avurudu uthsava thama thiyenawa (Not yet, some people are still returning to work during the auspicious times. In some companies, New Year events still continue),” Aldoris said.
“Avurudu uthsawaya mae avurudde wenas. Samaharu lokuwata samaranawa. Wenath ayata mudal nae rasa-kevili wath hadanna (Avurudu celebrations were mixed this year with some celebrating it grandly, while others were stuck for cash to prepare the usual sweetmeats),” noted Serapina, after, like the rest of the trio, returning from her village.
“Apey gamey supurudu race saha wenath katayuthu thibba (The usual road races and other activities were held in our village),” said Kussi Amma Sera.
Hotels were full during the long April 12-14 weekend and tourists also excitedly took part in the festivities, which is part of the discussion today when Arty, the intrepid entrepreneur, called this morning.
“I say, I read some interesting news about tourism in the South-East Asia region where there are efforts to launch a single visa facility in a Schengen-type visa initiative,” he said.
“If that succeeds it would be a boost for tourism in that region,” I said.
“Maybe Sri Lanka and its neighbours should also consider a similar practice,” he said.
“With so much conflict between India and Pakistan, this might not be possible,” I said, ending the conversation.
At this point I decided to check the internet to see how this proposal had originated.
According to news reports, it appears the proposal was spearheaded by the Thai Prime Minister calling for a common visa for a region that attracts 70 million tourists a year. It was reported that the Schengen-type tourist visa arrangement would cover Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. “The suggestion has actually been kicked around for 10 years but hadn’t got anywhere but recently had got reactivated after Thailand abolished visas (for a number of countries) and visas on arrival for 90 percent of arriving tourists is having an impact,” said one news report.
It said visa rules in the six countries are very diverse. Tourist entry to Thailand is mostly free although whether an individual receives 15 or 30 or 90 days depends on his passport country. Cambodia charges nearly everybody between US$ 30-40 for a flat 30 days. Some ASEAN partners allow Chinese and Indian nationals easy entry, whilst others require pre-flight approval and a hefty fee.
Well the conversation with Arty got me thinking: Why not a common visa arrangement that covers countries in SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) with Sri Lanka, even though it is one of the smallest countries in the region, leading the initiative?
No easy task given the perennial conflict between India and Pakistan which has brought SAARC down to its knees with no movement forward, although countries in the region, in vain, continue to espouse its values.
No harm done, however, in attempting to bring the region into an arrangement which would boost tourism in the respective countries, at a time when efforts to improve regional cooperation have failed. Sri Lanka is on a roll, tourism-wise and aiming to reach 2.4 million visitors this year with the magical 4 million arrivals set for the coming years.
Compared to South-East Asia’s 70 million-plus tourists per year, South Asia gets a miniscule number for a region that has much to offer to visitors.
South Asian countries have unique offerings, for example – Sri Lanka has everything bundled together in a small space, India has a wide range of attractions, Maldives is a luxury travel destination, Nepal has Mount Everest and the Himalayas, Bhutan is the happiest place on earth while Pakistan and Bangladesh have their own mystic offerings.
Consider the number of tourists visiting the region in 2022. India had over 6.19 million visitors; Pakistan 1.91 million; Sri Lanka 719,978; Maldives 1.6 million; Nepal 614,869; Bangladesh 135,000; and Bhutan around 95,000.
Tourism is the key to growth in all the regional countries with Sri Lanka hoping it would be the second best foreign exchange earner after remittances in the coming years. This year its boom times for tourism with hotels filling up during the season.
So why not a Schengen-type visa for SAARC? Let’s discuss this and lead the discussion in the region. Let’s get some agreement and show SAARC is not dead as a dodo for regional cooperation!
Already Sri Lanka offers free visas to seven countries – India, China, Indonesia, Russia, Thailand, Malaysia and Japan. Indonesia and Japan, under an ongoing pilot project, which is showing results. Considering the number of tourists who visit the Maldives with an airline stopover in Sri Lanka, it might be useful to start with these two countries. The Maldives, like Singapore, issues visas on arrival with no pre-arrangement required to obtain a visa.
Tourist arrival numbers are rising in Sri Lanka. There were 718,316 arrivals in the January-April 15, 2024 period compared to 441,177 for the January-April (full month) 2023 period. Tourism earnings in the period January-March 2024 rose sharply by 103 per cent to US$ 1 billion from $504 million in the same 2023 period. It was almost close to remittances which fetched $1,536 million in the same 2024 months.
Sri Lanka is ramping up tourism promotions tied to its tagline: ‘You will come back for more’, with roadshows and participation at key overseas trade fairs with the next being the popular Arabian Travel Mart (ATM) in Dubai next month.
So as I wind up yet another column calmed by Kussi Amma Sera’s soothing mug of tea, it may be useful for the travel industry and the authorities to consider discussing a common visa for the region and see how it pans out.
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