Travel / Lifestyle

Achieving one million tourist target not a difficult task - CHC CEO

by Lalin Fernandopulle

The one million tourist arrival target this year can be achieved with effective marketing strategies and infrastructure development. Tourism in Singapore and Malaysia is thriving due to sound infrastructure and proper marketing skills, said CEO, Ceylon Hotels Corporation, Anura Lokuhetti in an interview with the Sunday Observer.

He said achieving the target this year is not a difficult task because world tourist arrivals last year were around 800 million. If we could attract 407,000 tourists in 1982 there is no reason why we cannot reach the one million mark after 25 years.

A proper master plan focusing on infrastructure development and tourism promotion is essential to take the industry forward. Tourism has developed in many Asian countries due to effective promotional and marketing strategies.

Tourism is one of the industries that should be promoted in the national plan for development due to the multiple benefits it has on the country's economy. The highest number of employees in the world is in the tourism industry. Developing tourism will boost Sri Lanka's agriculture, fisheries cottage and other vital industries, Lokuhetty said.

He said nature, culture, adventure and the geographical setting are ideal conditions in Sri Lanka to promote the industry and gain advantage to maximise foreign exchange earnings. Countries such as Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia have benefited a great deal from the tourism industry.

The effects of international travel advisories have been felt badly with the decline in the number of tourist arrivals since last year. Though some hotels are operating directly with major charter operators doing well due to special offers made by the hotel and travel industries, the individual and small hotels are affected.

While some small hotels have closed others are retrenching the staff and are on the verge of closing down, he said.

Countries where tourists were direct targets of terrorist attacks have been able to revive the industry as the media has played an important role in projecting a positive image.

The tourist industry in the Maldives revived because the government did not want media reports in foreign countries when the tsunami struck the island. In Sri Lanka although the war is confined to the North and East foreign media reports project a negative picture about the country, he said.

The State must counter such adverse publicity in the Western media and assure that the country is a safe place to visit. Therefore media management is important for tourism in Sri Lanka, he said.

Domestic tourism must be given priority since it creates job opportunities and helps the cottage industry. Developing domestic tourism in Sri Lanka will instill patriotism and make people feel proud to be a citizen. It will be encouraging to include domestic tourism in the school curriculum and educate the community on the value of it.

Lokuhetty said the high cost of electricity is one of the major problems affecting the industry. Unless the government gives concessions to meet the energy cost, it will be an added burden to the ailing industry.

Most hoteliers have left the country seeking greener pastures because of the low remunerations and other facilities in the sector. The standard of the hotel schools needs to be improved so that those who join the trade will benefit and not seek better prospects elsewhere, he said.

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Lanka, Malaysia mull MoU to promote tourism

Malaysia and Sri Lanka are exploring opportunities of promoting the two countries together in Europe in the future under the one country two destinations concept, said Minister of Tourism, Malaysia Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor who led a high-powered sales mission to Sri Lanka.

He said that they had a meeting with the Tourism Minister Milinda Moragoda and Industry professionals. Both countries plan to sign a MoU to promote tourism in the future, said the minister.

Malaysia is planning to attract 20.1 million tourists and earn US $11 billion in revenue during the "Visit Malaysia Year 2007", the year long festival to celebrate 50 years of independence.

He said that Sri Lanka is a potential market for Malaysia and the number of tourists to Malaysia from Sri Lanka has increased every year. In 2004 it was 16,746, 2005 - 17,001 and in 2006 it was 20,200. In addition Malaysians also travel to Sri Lanka for religious and other purposes.

According to statistics 15 million Malaysians travel out of the country each year. The Minister said that 240 programs have been lined up and 50 have been selected to represent the best that Malaysia has to offer including Colours of Malaysia, Malaysia International Aerospace Exhibition, KL International Tattoo show, KL International Fashion week and KL International Busker Festival.

He said that the International Aerospace Exhibition would be of special significance as Malaysia will be sending a person to outer space in October. In addition visitors will get a chance of experiencing what it's like to be an astronaut when they try the lunar landing, Mars adventure and the shuttle flight simulators.

Malaysia is portrayed as a family destination where there is something for everyone to do while anyone can have a meal for less than one dollar. It is a nice place for shopping as well as you get all the branded products and is cheap compared to most other destinations in the region. Most of all it is a clean city, the minister said.

There are 14 Marinas around the country for water lovers while nature lovers too can enjoy outdoor activities such as jungle trekking, camping, four-wheel drive excursions and other adventures in Negeri Sembilan's pristine jungles as well as Lata Kijang waterfalls and the Ulu Bendul Recreational forest.

He said under "my second home program" over 10,000 have applied for visas to stay in Malaysia.