Features
Whither Sri Lanka’s tourist industry?
Some niche markets to develop
by Mahendra Amarasuriya
The present serious economic crisis the country has fallen into cannot be overcome without the development of value added exports, tourism, and remittances from Sri Lankan expatriates, many of whom are very poor women who go in search of employment overseas in order to improve the lives of their families at serious costs to their own life and well being .Out of these the tourist Industry can be considered to be “one of the low hanging fruits” , the development of which has a great deal of potential, considering the wonderful natural resources our little country has, very attractive to tourists. Our country has only 65,000 sq. km. in land area but is an island possessed of some of the finest natural beaches in the world. In fact one of its famous beaches at Unawatunna was recognized as one of the best beaches in the world quite some time ago.
It also has a tremendous variety of agro climatic zones ranging from purely tropical at sea level and going up to over 6,000 ft, resembling a Mediterranean climate. There are many ancient cities going back to over 2,000 years and a recorded history and culture of around 2,500 years.
The tourist Industry does have tremendous potential which in my opinion has not been properly exploited in order to make maximum use of the varied and diversified resources available in this small but beautiful country.
Tourism was growing reasonably well, and had achieved arrivals of 2.33MN tourists in 2018, which I believe was the highest to date. Unfortunately, thereafter, the Easter Sunday massacre and the Covid pandemic hit us like many other countries and almost completely destroyed the tourist industry which plunged to 194,495 arrivals in 2021. We are now on a recovery phase with over a million tourists arriving to date in 2023, against I believe an amended target of 1.5 mn arrivals by end of this year.
However, in my opinion, it is the tourist guest nights that matter where income is concerned and of course the room occupancy rates. In 2018, the tourist guest nights amounted to 25,205. Gross tourist receipts amounted to 711,961 mn. SLR and per capita tourist receipts amounted to Rs. 305,066. Tourism also creates many employment opportunities and according to the Central Bank reports 2020/2022 , total employment in 2018 was 388,487 and in 2019 402,607 .
On this basis , the per capita income per tourist in 2018 amounted to Rs. 305,066 and in 2019 Rs. 337,755 . What should the strategy be for the future?. Are we intending to attract mass tourism with average or low spending tourists or make a serious attempt to attract the high end tourist clientele . I believe the Minister of Tourism is projecting to increase the arrivals to five million in a couple of years and the President has made a suggestion to target 10 mn. by 2030.
Sri Lanka being a relatively small country, though it has many tourist attractions in my opinion, should project for only a limited number to be decided upon by the authorities because the popular tourist attractions like Sigiriya, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa and the Wild Life Sanctuaries, especially Yala are over-visited with far too many tourists visiting for them to be sustainable in the long term.If we merely increase numbers of average and low-end tourists, we will only increase the footfalls at our main tourist destinations, which may not be able to sustain very large numbers without a parallel increase in our tourism earnings to develop these locations. In the long run, this may be an unsustainable strategy.
It is necessary to differentiate our tourist industry and target new niche markets which are easily accessible. Before I identify a few of them, we must accept the fact that such high-end tourist would not wish to spend time on our roads in traffic jams before they reach their destination. Travel time to the ultimate destination is of great importance and our roads are not up to the standards, that such tourist are used to.
Fortunately, we now have the express way to Colombo from the BIA, but after visitors arrive in Colombo, many are not interested in staying in the city but have planned to visit various well known tourist destinations. The travel time to get to them is far too long.
For instance, despite the Southern Expressway which can take you to Hambantota in about two and a half hours, it takes 45 minutes to one hour to entern the expressway from the Colombo City. There are other expressways planned, but we can hardly afford them in our present economic condition.
One way of getting over this problem, is to develop a network of domestic airports enabling travel to popular destinations directly from the BIA. At every tourist center, we should have an airport which can accommodation smaller aircraft. Many such airstrips are available. For instance, the one at Koggala which was used by the British during the war, can easily be used to service southern tourist locations.
There are also airstrips at Sigiriya and an SLAF base at China Bay near Trincomalee. There are airstrips at Weerawila and Sigiriya and of course the Mattala International Airport.A new airport will have to be developed for the Central Province. We already have Palaly in Jaffna. Developing airports to service popular tourist destinations can be carried out on a PPP (Public Private Partnership) basis and the private sector will definitely be interested in investing in such developments. If such a network is established, a tourist can fly from BIA to these destinations within hours of arrival and thereby not waste time on our poor road network.Let me now identify some possible niche markets….(1).
Golf Tourism
. Golf is a game played by the more affluent people in the world. Many of them are crazy about playing golf regularly. In popular golf playing nations like Japan, Korea, USA and some European countries, it is difficult for many people to get a game of golf, due to the high popularity of the game and lack of sufficient courses. I am told that some Japanese travel for more than two hours, just to get a game of golf. In this scenario, there are people who are willing to fly to new destinations, sometimes even for a weekend of golf.
To accommodate these golf addicts, we must try to promote the development of a golf course at every popular tourist destination for instance (1). Around Bentota , Galle, Hambantota already has a small golf course at Shangri-La hotel, Central Province has the Victoria Golf Course, and two more should be established, one in Batticaloa and one in Trincomalee.
With this net work of golf courses, golf tourists can easily be accommodated and they are high-end tourists . One may ask, where is the funding for such developments. Such funding should come from foreign investors and the BOI must be given a target of attracting such investments within a short period. It may also be queried as to why we need so many golf courses. It is because tourists at every tourist center should have the use of a golf course. Interestingly, Singapore, a much smaller country than Sri Lanka has 16 golf courses.
(2). Yachting Tourists. There is a whole band of people who spend most of their time in the high seas, traveling from one destination to the other. There were many such yachts utilizing the Galle Harbour in the past. But I am told that the costs have gone up and the services provided are not up to standard and the popularity has decreased. Galle Harbour can easily be developed into a Yacht Harbour by creating an infrastructure of restaurants, hotels, cinemas, etc. to service these sailors and their yachts while they spend a few days on land.
There is a Marina planned at the Ports City in Colombo. I believe the intention is to make it a world class marina. So together Galle and Colombo can attract many people sailing yachts.
(3). The Boating Industry appears to be making a lot of headway and there are local boat builders manufacturing small and medium size boats. These can be used for cruises around the island which will attract many people, who love the sea and are interested in spending their time sailing around Sri Lanka.
(4). Adventure Tourism… There is great potential for Adventure Tourism, including hill climbing, as Sri Lankas topography is such that there are many small hills and mountains that can be scaled.
(5). Cycling Tourism. There are many tourists who are interested in cycling and our island is well roaded and relatively safe and can certainly attract many cycling tourists. At sea level, they can cycle right round the island. If they venture inland, there are many interesting routes for cycling up to the hills in the center of the island.
(6). Nature Tourism. Sri Lanka is considered to be hot spot in biodiversity. Many nature lovers can be attracted for instance. It is a paradise for bird watchers with over 528 species of birds, both migratory and endemic. Thirty four are endemic but many migratory birds fly here during winter in the western hemisphere. It is interesting that they choose Sri Lanka, but my guess is that since we are situated at the Southern most point in this area, with no land mass, beyond until the South Pole, migratory birds naturally end up in Sri Lanka. We have observed many migratory birds, even in Colombo during the western winter. Furthermore, in the wetlands around Colombo, many species of birds have been observed by bird watchers.
Then there is the largest primary tropical rain forest of over 36,000 hectares. Sinharaja has 60% of endemic trees and numerous species of Sri Lankan mammals and butterflies and many endemic species of reptiles and amphibians. A walk through Sinharaja with its eight beautiful waterfalls is an experience of a lifetime. Sinharaja is also a World Heritage site.
These are few of the niche markets that I have identified. Possibly there are many more and it is up to the tourist industry to create niche markets for attracting high-end tourists. We may not be able to attract hundreds of thousands of such high-end tourists, but even four to 500,000 will bring us more income than over a million average tourists .
Unless we follow such a strategy, just increasing numbers will not suffice and can even become counter productive, as too many low end tourists can only to an extent destroy our environment without providing us with a substantial dollar income per tourist for reinvestment and development.
(The writer is a former Chairman Commercial Bank PLC, United Motors PLC, Pelwatte Sugar Industries PLC, Deputy Chairman Hayleys PLC, Former Chairman Employers Federation and Planters Association of Ceylon).
by Dr Gotabhya Ranasinghe
Senior Consultant Cardiologist
National Hospital Sri Lanka
When we sought a meeting with Hon Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Health, he graciously cleared his busy schedule to accommodate us. Renowned for his attentive listening and deep understanding, Minister Pathirana is dedicated to advancing the health sector. His openness and transparency exemplify the qualities of an exemplary politician and minister.
Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the current Health Secretary, demonstrates both commendable enthusiasm and unwavering support. This combination of attributes makes him a highly compatible colleague for the esteemed Minister of Health.
Our discussion centered on a project that has been in the works for the past 30 years, one that no other minister had managed to advance.
Minister Pathirana, however, recognized the project’s significance and its potential to revolutionize care for heart patients.
The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the premises of the National Hospital Colombo. The project’s location within the premises of the National Hospital underscores its importance and relevance to the healthcare infrastructure of the nation.
This facility will include a cardiology building and a tertiary care center, equipped with the latest technology to handle and treat all types of heart-related conditions and surgeries.
Securing funding was a major milestone for this initiative. Minister Pathirana successfully obtained approval for a $40 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. With the funding in place, the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in September this year, and construction will begin in January 2025.
This project guarantees a consistent and uninterrupted supply of stents and related medications for heart patients. As a result, patients will have timely access to essential medical supplies during their treatment and recovery. By securing these critical resources, the project aims to enhance patient outcomes, minimize treatment delays, and maintain the highest standards of cardiac care.
Upon its fruition, this monumental building will serve as a beacon of hope and healing, symbolizing the unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier society.We anticipate a future marked by significant progress and positive outcomes in Sri Lanka’s cardiovascular treatment landscape within the foreseeable timeframe.
by Fr. Emmanuel Fernando, OMI
Jesuit Fr. Aloysius Pieris (affectionately called Fr. Aloy) celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2024 and I, as the editor of our Oblate Journal, THE MISSIONARY OBLATE had gone to press by that time. Immediately I decided to publish an article, appreciating the untiring selfless services he continues to offer for inter-Faith dialogue, the renewal of the Catholic Church, his concern for the poor and the suffering Sri Lankan masses and to me, the present writer.
It was in 1988, when I was appointed Director of the Oblate Scholastics at Ampitiya by the then Oblate Provincial Fr. Anselm Silva, that I came to know Fr. Aloy more closely. Knowing well his expertise in matters spiritual, theological, Indological and pastoral, and with the collaborative spirit of my companion-formators, our Oblate Scholastics were sent to Tulana, the Research and Encounter Centre, Kelaniya, of which he is the Founder-Director, for ‘exposure-programmes’ on matters spiritual, biblical, theological and pastoral. Some of these dimensions according to my view and that of my companion-formators, were not available at the National Seminary, Ampitiya.
Ever since that time, our Oblate formators/ accompaniers at the Oblate Scholasticate, Ampitiya , have continued to send our Oblate Scholastics to Tulana Centre for deepening their insights and convictions regarding matters needed to serve the people in today’s context. Fr. Aloy also had tried very enthusiastically with the Oblate team headed by Frs. Oswald Firth and Clement Waidyasekara to begin a Theologate, directed by the Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka, for the contextual formation/ accompaniment of their members. It should very well be a desired goal of the Leaders / Provincials of the Religious Congregations.
Besides being a formator/accompanier at the Oblate Scholasticate, I was entrusted also with the task of editing and publishing our Oblate journal, ‘The Missionary Oblate’. To maintain the quality of the journal I continue to depend on Fr. Aloy for his thought-provoking and stimulating articles on Biblical Spirituality, Biblical Theology and Ecclesiology. I am very grateful to him for his generous assistance. Of late, his writings on renewal of the Church, initiated by Pope St. John XX111 and continued by Pope Francis through the Synodal path, published in our Oblate journal, enable our readers to focus their attention also on the needed renewal in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Aloy appreciated very much the Synodal path adopted by the Jesuit Pope Francis for the renewal of the Church, rooted very much on prayerful discernment. In my Religious and presbyteral life, Fr.Aloy continues to be my spiritual animator / guide and ongoing formator / acccompanier.
Fr. Aloysius Pieris, BA Hons (Lond), LPh (SHC, India), STL (PFT, Naples), PhD (SLU/VC), ThD (Tilburg), D.Ltt (KU), has been one of the eminent Asian theologians well recognized internationally and one who has lectured and held visiting chairs in many universities both in the West and in the East. Many members of Religious Congregations from Asian countries have benefited from his lectures and guidance in the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Manila, Philippines. He had been a Theologian consulted by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences for many years. During his professorship at the Gregorian University in Rome, he was called to be a member of a special group of advisers on other religions consulted by Pope Paul VI.
Fr. Aloy is the author of more than 30 books and well over 500 Research Papers. Some of his books and articles have been translated and published in several countries. Among those books, one can find the following: 1) The Genesis of an Asian Theology of Liberation (An Autobiographical Excursus on the Art of Theologising in Asia, 2) An Asian Theology of Liberation, 3) Providential Timeliness of Vatican 11 (a long-overdue halt to a scandalous millennium, 4) Give Vatican 11 a chance, 5) Leadership in the Church, 6) Relishing our faith in working for justice (Themes for study and discussion), 7) A Message meant mainly, not exclusively for Jesuits (Background information necessary for helping Francis renew the Church), 8) Lent in Lanka (Reflections and Resolutions, 9) Love meets wisdom (A Christian Experience of Buddhism, 10) Fire and Water 11) God’s Reign for God’s poor, 12) Our Unhiddden Agenda (How we Jesuits work, pray and form our men). He is also the Editor of two journals, Vagdevi, Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue, New Series.
Fr. Aloy has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London and a Ph.D in Buddhist Philosophy from the University of Sri Lankan, Vidyodaya Campus. On Nov. 23, 2019, he was awarded the prestigious honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, the Most Venerable Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Thera.
Fr. Aloy continues to be a promoter of Gospel values and virtues. Justice as a constitutive dimension of love and social concern for the downtrodden masses are very much noted in his life and work. He had very much appreciated the commitment of the late Fr. Joseph (Joe) Fernando, the National Director of the Social and Economic Centre (SEDEC) for the poor.
In Sri Lanka, a few religious Congregations – the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Oblates – have invited him to animate their members especially during their Provincial Congresses, Chapters and International Conferences. The mainline Christian Churches also have sought his advice and followed his seminars. I, for one, regret very much, that the Sri Lankan authorities of the Catholic Church –today’s Hierarchy—- have not sought Fr.
Aloy’s expertise for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and thus have not benefited from the immense store of wisdom and insight that he can offer to our local Church while the Sri Lankan bishops who governed the Catholic church in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (Edmund Fernando OMI, Anthony de Saram, Leo Nanayakkara OSB, Frank Marcus Fernando, Paul Perera,) visited him and consulted him on many matters. Among the Tamil Bishops, Bishop Rayappu Joseph was keeping close contact with him and Bishop J. Deogupillai hosted him and his team visiting him after the horrible Black July massacre of Tamils.
Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
By Gomi Senadhira
senadhiragomi@gmail.com
“You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the ultimate result of this is the country becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet.” – President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 2024 Budget speech
Any Sri Lankan would agree with the above words of President Wickremesinghe on the false promises our politicians and officials make and the fairy tales they narrate which bankrupted this country. So, to understand this, let’s look at one such fairy tale with lots of false promises; Ranil Wickremesinghe’s greatest achievement in the area of international trade and investment promotion during the Yahapalana period, Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA).
It is appropriate and timely to do it now as Finance Minister Wickremesinghe has just presented to parliament a bill on the National Policy on Economic Transformation which includes the establishment of an Office for International Trade and the Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade.
Was SLSFTA a “Cleverly negotiated Free Trade Agreement” as stated by the (former) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate on the SLSFTA in July 2018, or a colossal blunder covered up with lies, false promises, and fairy tales? After SLSFTA was signed there were a number of fairy tales published on this agreement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International, Institute of Policy Studies, and others.
However, for this article, I would like to limit my comments to the speech by Minister Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate, and the two most important areas in the agreement which were covered up with lies, fairy tales, and false promises, namely: revenue loss for Sri Lanka and Investment from Singapore. On the other important area, “Waste products dumping” I do not want to comment here as I have written extensively on the issue.
1. The revenue loss
During the Parliamentary Debate in July 2018, Minister Samarawickrama stated “…. let me reiterate that this FTA with Singapore has been very cleverly negotiated by us…. The liberalisation programme under this FTA has been carefully designed to have the least impact on domestic industry and revenue collection. We have included all revenue sensitive items in the negative list of items which will not be subject to removal of tariff. Therefore, 97.8% revenue from Customs duty is protected. Our tariff liberalisation will take place over a period of 12-15 years! In fact, the revenue earned through tariffs on goods imported from Singapore last year was Rs. 35 billion.
The revenue loss for over the next 15 years due to the FTA is only Rs. 733 million– which when annualised, on average, is just Rs. 51 million. That is just 0.14% per year! So anyone who claims the Singapore FTA causes revenue loss to the Government cannot do basic arithmetic! Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I call on my fellow members of this House – don’t mislead the public with baseless criticism that is not grounded in facts. Don’t look at petty politics and use these issues for your own political survival.”
I was surprised to read the minister’s speech because an article published in January 2018 in “The Straits Times“, based on information released by the Singaporean Negotiators stated, “…. With the FTA, tariff savings for Singapore exports are estimated to hit $10 million annually“.
As the annual tariff savings (that is the revenue loss for Sri Lanka) calculated by the Singaporean Negotiators, Singaporean $ 10 million (Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 million in 2018) was way above the rupees’ 733 million revenue loss for 15 years estimated by the Sri Lankan negotiators, it was clear to any observer that one of the parties to the agreement had not done the basic arithmetic!
Six years later, according to a report published by “The Morning” newspaper, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 7th May 2024, Mr Samarawickrama’s chief trade negotiator K.J. Weerasinghehad had admitted “…. that forecasted revenue loss for the Government of Sri Lanka through the Singapore FTA is Rs. 450 million in 2023 and Rs. 1.3 billion in 2024.”
If these numbers are correct, as tariff liberalisation under the SLSFTA has just started, we will pass Rs 2 billion very soon. Then, the question is how Sri Lanka’s trade negotiators made such a colossal blunder. Didn’t they do their basic arithmetic? If they didn’t know how to do basic arithmetic they should have at least done their basic readings. For example, the headline of the article published in The Straits Times in January 2018 was “Singapore, Sri Lanka sign FTA, annual savings of $10m expected”.
Anyway, as Sri Lanka’s chief negotiator reiterated at the COPF meeting that “…. since 99% of the tariffs in Singapore have zero rates of duty, Sri Lanka has agreed on 80% tariff liberalisation over a period of 15 years while expecting Singapore investments to address the imbalance in trade,” let’s turn towards investment.
Investment from Singapore
In July 2018, speaking during the Parliamentary Debate on the FTA this is what Minister Malik Samarawickrama stated on investment from Singapore, “Already, thanks to this FTA, in just the past two-and-a-half months since the agreement came into effect we have received a proposal from Singapore for investment amounting to $ 14.8 billion in an oil refinery for export of petroleum products. In addition, we have proposals for a steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million), sugar refinery ($ 200 million). This adds up to more than $ 16.05 billion in the pipeline on these projects alone.
And all of these projects will create thousands of more jobs for our people. In principle approval has already been granted by the BOI and the investors are awaiting the release of land the environmental approvals to commence the project.
I request the Opposition and those with vested interests to change their narrow-minded thinking and join us to develop our country. We must always look at what is best for the whole community, not just the few who may oppose. We owe it to our people to courageously take decisions that will change their lives for the better.”
According to the media report I quoted earlier, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chief Negotiator Weerasinghe has admitted that Sri Lanka was not happy with overall Singapore investments that have come in the past few years in return for the trade liberalisation under the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. He has added that between 2021 and 2023 the total investment from Singapore had been around $162 million!
What happened to those projects worth $16 billion negotiated, thanks to the SLSFTA, in just the two-and-a-half months after the agreement came into effect and approved by the BOI? I do not know about the steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million) and sugar refinery ($ 200 million).
However, story of the multibillion-dollar investment in the Petroleum Refinery unfolded in a manner that would qualify it as the best fairy tale with false promises presented by our politicians and the officials, prior to 2019 elections.
Though many Sri Lankans got to know, through the media which repeatedly highlighted a plethora of issues surrounding the project and the questionable credentials of the Singaporean investor, the construction work on the Mirrijiwela Oil Refinery along with the cement factory began on the24th of March 2019 with a bang and Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his ministers along with the foreign and local dignitaries laid the foundation stones.
That was few months before the 2019 Presidential elections. Inaugurating the construction work Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the projects will create thousands of job opportunities in the area and surrounding districts.
The oil refinery, which was to be built over 200 acres of land, with the capacity to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was to generate US$7 billion of exports and create 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The construction of the refinery was to be completed in 44 months. Four years later, in August 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the agreement with the investors of the refinery as the project has not been implemented! Can they explain to the country how much money was wasted to produce that fairy tale?
It is obvious that the President, ministers, and officials had made huge blunders and had deliberately misled the public and the parliament on the revenue loss and potential investment from SLSFTA with fairy tales and false promises.
As the president himself said, a country cannot be developed by making false promises or with fairy tales and these false promises and fairy tales had bankrupted the country. “Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet”.
(The writer, a specialist and an activist on trade and development issues . )
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