Travel / Lifestyle

Repealing Tourism Act will hit industry

by Lalin Fernandopulle

The tourism industry will suffer considerably if private sector participation is removed from tourism promotional and formulation of marketing strategies.

The Tourism Act involves the private sector in the promotion of tourism and human resource development of the industry. By repealing the Act the involvement of the private sector in the tourism industry will be affected. This will hinder the funding and promotional activities of the tourism industry and affect its growth, said Immediate Past President of the Tourist Hotels' Association of Sri Lanka Malin Hapugoda.

The Mahinda Chintanaya envisages that around 1.5 million tourists will be attracted by 2010. To achieve this target there should be proper marketing strategies with sound infrastructure facilities. The private sector has been introducing marketing strategies and mechanisms to develop the industry.

Corporate giants have provided funds for developmental activities and human resource training of the leisure industry, Hapugoda said.

The cooperation of the private sector in the growth of the tourism industry is vital and to think it is not necessary is imprudent and unforseen. The private sector owns 99.9 percent of the hotels in the country. Therefore, the decision to repeal the Tourism Act will not be in the best interests of the country, he said.

The Hotels' Association worked hard to formulate and get the Tourism Act implemented. The purpose of implementing it is to get the private sector involved in the promotional activities of the tourism industry since subsequent governments could not provide adequate funds for tourism promotion. The leisure industry had to contribute a big percentage of funds for tourism promotional activities. The private sector involvement in the progress and welfare of the industry is very high, he said.

In India, Thailand and Malaysia the cooperation and involvement of the private sector in tourism promotion is very high. Tourism in these countries has grown by leaps and bounds due to the strategic involvement of the private sector.

A majority in the tourism industry is for the implementation of the Act. It is a few who want the Act to be repealed.

The pros and cons of repealing the Act should be weighed carefully before it is implemented. The Act could be repealed for minor changes to be done if it is necessary and in the interest of all, he said.

To achieve the targets set out in the Mahinda Chintanaya for the tourism industry there needs to be good infrastructure facilities, adequate hotel rooms, restaurants and human resource management. The private sector plays a significant role in the development of the industry by way of funding and training.

President, Tourist Hotels' Association of Sri Lanka Hiran Cooray said "We have been continuously requesting the Minister of Tourism to implement the Tourism Act without changes.

If the Minister wishes to repeal the Act it should be done entirely and not partly since 50 percent of it is being implemented.

It is a creative and progressive Act and it is not to please individuals. If the Act is to be repealed then the Finance Act too should be repealed and the money collected since 2003 be paid back to the industry, Cooray said.

Executive Director, National Council for Economic Development (NCED) Rohantha Athukorala said Sri Lanka's marketing strategy should be aggressive and robust like our competitors Thailand and Malaysia.

The Tourism Act will include the private sector thinking in developing marketing strategies to attract tourists to the country.

Hence the Tourism Act is the best to attract the 1.5 million tourists to Sri Lanka by 2010, Athukorala said.

Secretary to the Ministry of Tourism Prof. P. Ramanujam said there are no major amendments to the Act except for minor changes. The Hotel Schools will have its own management and will not be under the Tourist Board.

SriLankan promotes Lanka in UK

SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier and a co-sponsor of Refreshingly Sri Lanka participated in a 10-day festival in London to promote Sri Lanka in the UK.

A combined effort of the private and public sector, Refreshingly Sri Lanka saw SriLankan Airlines transport nearly 250 participants and 3000kg of cargo from Colombo to London. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ports and Aviation Mangala Samaraweera said, "the national carrier SriLankan Airlines facilitated the arrival of many participants whose products, services and talents you saw today."

Spearheaded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Sri Lanka High Commission in UK in collaboration with several other Ministries the opening event that included a traditional Perehara drew over 10,000 visitors.

Air Arabia adds 20 more flights for Umrah

Air Arabia LLC launched 20 additional flights to Jeddah for the Umrah pilgrimage. The schedule, to be operational between July 18 and August 12 will be available for GCC nationals and passengers with Umrah visas only.

The additional service to Jeddah for Umrah will take off from Sharjah around midnight and return from Jeddah to arrive back in Sharjah early in the morning. Regular flights to Jeddah will continue to be operational every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday.

CEO of Air Arabia, Adel Ali said: "We have decided to have additional frequency on the Sharjah Jeddah sector to cope with the extra demand for high capacity during the Umrah season. The decision to add the extra flights for Umrah reflects our commitment to the people of this region to provide them with affordable travel and present them an opportunity to perform Umrah rituals".

"As we increase the ease and accessibility for more people to make this sacred journey to the Holy land, Air Arabia would like to express its gratitude to the government and Civil Aviation Authority in Saudi Arabia for their support and assistance in granting us the rights for the flights", he said.

Aitken Spence Hotels promotions

In response to the overwhelming success of Aitken Spence Hotels' summer promotion of last year, the hotelier has introduced a series of promotions for June and July that have already received strong support from local clientele.

This summer, Aitken Spence Hotels offers special weekend, weekday and honeymoon packages at several popular hotels, including The Tea Factory, Golden Sun Resort, Neptune Hotel, Browns Beach Hotel, Bandarawela Hotel and Hotel Hilltop.

Offers and promotions are varied, lively and most of all, cost-efficient for guests. The "Lucky Dip" for weekend guests departing on Sunday will wipe out the entire full-board weekend bill for the lucky room number to emerge from the revolving barrel at the front desk. That's in addition to the discounted summer rates.

It's "Summer Magic" from Aitken Spence and it's available only for resident Sri Lankan nationals and expatriates till October 31.