Promising start for tourism

Oh what a din! Aldoris was coming down the lane in his tuk-tuk with blaring music and stopped at the gate where the trio had gathered. “Aiyo, oyage sangeetha harima saddai-ne (Aiyo, your music is too loud),” exclaimed Serapina.

“Samawenna miss. Mama ada sathuten inne mata Honda bisness thibba hinda eeiye (Sorry Miss, I am in a happy mood today as I had good business yesterday),” replied Aldoris with a sheepish grin, handing over some fish buns to the trio.

“Eka honda salakunak, mokada jeevithe hari amarui-ne janathawata. Goda denek davasata wel thunak kanne nae (That’s a good sign because people are struggling these days and don’t eat three meals a day),” said Kussi Amma Sera.

“Den navathama viduli bala wedi kereemath samagama jeevana viyadama thavath wedi wei (With the latest increase in electricity charges, the cost of living will further rise),” noted Mabel Rasthiyadu.

As Aldoris departed after concluding his business at the gate, the phone rang in the household. It was Ruwanputha, the young economist, on the line.

“There seems to be some good news from the tourism sector,” he said.

“Yes, the first few weeks in January have seen an increase in tourist arrivals,” I said.

According to official data, Sri Lanka received 62,334 tourists in the first 19 days of January and is set to meet the target of 105,000 arrivals for the whole month.

The country is targeting 1.5 million arrivals this year and an estimated annual revenue of US$2.8 billion compared to 720,000 arrivals and $1.14 billion revenue in 2022. The target is still lower than the record 2.5 million arrivals and $4 billion revenue achieved in 2018 which would take a few more years to better.

Russians, despite uncertainty in their troubled country which is at war with Ukraine, led the number of arrivals followed by Indians. Some charter flights bringing in Russian tourists have been operating to the Hambantota airport.

Continuing the conversation, Ruwanputha however said that the tourism industry has many challenges to overcome this year. “With the debt moratoriums set to end, the industry will be hard pressed to pay their mounting debt which grew during the pandemic period and with no business they had to borrow from banks to pay wages and other expenses,” I said, adding that the industry is requesting an extension of the moratoriums.

“At least with increasing arrivals this year, the foreign exchange earnings would help our foreign reserves,” he said.

State tourism officials said that the authorities are preparing a 10-year national tourism policy which would be released in the coming weeks.

Unlike many other economic sectors, tourism suffers the most in a crisis but on the flip side is also quick to recover. This was clear during the period of the ethnic conflict when arrivals dropped due to the war but picked up rapidly at the end of the conflict in mid-2009.

Another positive sign is that China has opened its borders after a 3-year COVID-19 lockdown and the world, including Sri Lanka, is eagerly awaiting tourist flows from that country. Just before the pandemic, China was the world’s biggest source of international travellers accounting for 155 million tourists who spent more than a quarter of a trillion dollars abroad in 2019. China was Sri Lanka’s third largest tourism source in 2019.

There was a major issue last week when Sri Lanka Tourism announced that tourists would be required to produce their vaccination details on arrival, while the unvaccinated have to produce a negative PCR test taken before departing from their home country.

The announcement caught the industry off-guard and led to a chorus of protests. Currently PCR tests are not required and returning to this rule would have discouraged foreign travellers as competing destinations have relaxed health guidelines. However, it is learnt that some western countries have brought back health guidelines specifically targeting Chinese visitors and local authorities here felt that without singling out Chinese travellers alone, restrictions should be enforced on all travellers.

The ruling by tourism authorities here was done without consulting health authorities who firmly said the status quo remains, meaning that travellers need not produce a PCR test on arrival and there was no need to produce vaccination cards. Sri Lanka Tourism subsequently withdrew its circular.

Tourism businesses are hoping for a much better year and are taking part in a host of foreign travel shows and exhibitions including ITB Berlin 2023 to be held in Germany from March 7–9, to raise Sri Lanka’s profile as a destination to visit. More promotion is solely required as the country received negative publicity owing to food shortages, fuel queues and political turmoil last year.

In this context, the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) is to call for proposals next month ahead of launching a digital marketing campaign aimed at promoting the country as a trouble-free destination with many attractions and correcting any negative perceptions overseas.

Another boost is the re-scheduled 66th Annual Convention of the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) which is now likely to take place in mid-2023. This event which was postponed last year due to the economic crisis and political unrest will welcome over 500 delegates representing top travel associations across India. Thankfully, Indian tourism authorities agreed to postpone the event to 2023 in support of Sri Lanka tourism instead of shifting it to another country.

According to officials, Sri Lanka this year is hoping to receive 264,000 Indians, 225,000 Russians and 220,000 Chinese among others.

The industry is also pushing for an extension of the debt moratoriums, saying businesses have still not recovered. “Our debts are mounting,” one industry official lamented.

As I wound up my column, Kussi Amma Sera brought my second mug of tea, saying, “Electricity rates are going up.” I nodded in acknowledgement, realising that higher power rates would be another blow to tourism just as this industry is on the recovery path.