Tourist guides are an unhappy lot

Sri Lanka’s tourist guides are unhappy. “We have a wage issue going on for three years,” said Sri Lanka Institute of National Tourist Guide Lecturers (SLINTGL) Acting President D.A.S.D Arachchige. “Our daily basic fee for a tour is Rs 2,500. We are severely underpaid for a job that lasts 24-hours.”

The Institute has asked for an increment of US$ 50 a day as they now get just US$ 10-15. The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) and SLINTGL then settled upon US$ 35. But the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators was not on board.

“Increments happen every two years,” said Immediate Past President Mahen Kariyawasam. “The last one was from 2017–2019 and should have been renewed in May 2019 but was impossible due to the drop of tourism after the Easter attacks.”

“However, it will be raised to Rs 4,000 a day from January 1, 2022,” he said. “That will continue till December 31, 2023. This is an increase of 62.5 percent.” Guides with more skills-- such as fluency in foreign languages--were paid higher.