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| Sunday, 6 October 2002 |
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New legislation to boost tourism by SUREKHA GALAGODA The main aim of the new Tourism Development Law is to make Sri Lanka a world class tourist destination catering to high value niche market tourists. The Government will play the role of a facilitator and regulator at national level while the private sector will play a major role in implementing the policy. Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourist Board, Paddy Withana said the new law addresses the issue of restructuring the tourism product to become viable in keeping with global trends. It will be presented to Parliament soon. It was prepared by a team appointed by the Prime Minister, consisting of hoteliers, tour operators as well as leaders in the travel trade. Under the new law, plans are afoot to increase the number of tourist arrivals and improve revenue levels and employment. According to available statistics, Sri Lanka has earned US$ 212 million from tourism in 2001. "We want to increase this to US$ 600 million within the next five years and increase tourist arrivals from 336,000 to 600,000," he said. Under the new law, a Tourism Authority will be set up to act as the regulatory body while a Marketing Bureau will be an independent corporate entity to promote Sri Lanka as a destination. The private sector would be given more responsibility for the development of the industry under the proposed Authority. Investments required for the promotion of Sri Lanka as a destination will be borne by the private sector. Hotels will have to pay one per cent of their turnover while airline tour operators will have to pay five US dollars per passenger. The money collected will be deposited in a cess fund to be used for destination promotion, said the Chairman.An Institute for Tourism Studies will be set up to cater to the training needs of the industry more effectively. It will offer craft courses, diplomas and degrees in areas related to the industry. Speaking of regional tourism, Withana said that tourism will be developed under the five major economic zones. The objective of this exercise is to have 365 days of tourism in the country instead of the 'season' and 'off season'. Development of the East Coast will be done in a systematic way. "As an immediate step, we will improve, upgrade and maintain the present hotels while we take a look at what assistance should be given to develop the product further". According to the World Tourism Organisation, global arrivals will reach one billion by 2010 with an annual growth rate of 3.7 per cent and 0.52 per cent growth in Asia. It is predicted that Asia will be a major beneficiary of this trend, he said. Withana was of the view that we have to develop niches beyond beaches to reap the full potential of tourism and get the benefits of the future trends in world tourism. Sri Lanka is the highest populated destination for wildlife and nature conservation. It is also the most bio-diversified eco-travel destination in the world. "Now we have 13,500 hotel rooms. We are looking at upgrading them to tap niche markets. We also want to encourage eco-lodges and ancestral homes. Houses with four to six rooms can provide a homely atmosphere with hospitality for which we are famous. For all this to be a reality, peace is a must," said Withana. |
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