SAARC, a unique tourism region

Full potential yet to be realised:

By Pramod DE SILVA

Sigiriya

Bhutan

Taj Mahal, India

Maldives

Tourism is all about people-to-people contact. It is about developing bridges among different cultures. It is now being considered as a vital industry for South Asia, a region with one - fifth of humanity, several diverse cultures, scores of World Heritage Sites and other tourist attractions.

Another successful SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Summit was concluded on Friday in Addu, Maldives, a tourism hot spot in the region. A SAARC tourism gathering is being held today and tomorrow at the Gateway Hotel Airport Garden in Katunayake. These initiatives point to a new future for SAARC, with a firm place for tourism.

It is in this context that we revisit the topic of tourism in the SAARC region. Sri Lanka was one of the first SAARC countries to realise the importance of tourism to the economy (as well as its significance in terms of people-to-people contact).

Today, this policy has paid ample dividends with nearly half a million tourists from all over the world visiting the country, described as one of the most exotic and beautiful islands on Earth. India, UK, Germany and the rest of Europe are the leading markets for Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, with China becoming increasingly prominent.

Sri Lanka could well be on track to achieve the initial goal of one million tourists in just a few years, with a parallel rise in the number of hotel rooms and even flight connections or inbound seats. The proposed entry of Shangri La and Sheraton hotel chains is a good omen as well.

There is also good demand locally for jobs in the tourism profession from guides to chefs. In fact, a Sri Lankan tour guide was recently chosen as the World’s Best Tourist Guide, reaffirming the fact that local tourism industry professionals are second to none in the world.

Peaceful atmosphere

But tourism needs one major factor to thrive anywhere: a peaceful atmosphere. Sri Lanka lacked this until just two years ago due to LTTE terrorism, although intrepid tourists still flocked in (Remarkably, in 30 years of terrorism, no tourist was affected by any of the incidents).

Now that a peaceful climate has been established and all countries have lifted their negative travel advisories on Sri Lanka, more tourists are discovering Sri Lanka without any fear or uncertainty. It has also led to the arrival here of several well-known hotel chains, as previously mentioned.

Although India gets around five million tourists a year and other SAARC countries are picking up, the truth is that SAARC as a whole still has only a fraction of the world tourism market.

Nearly 1,000 million people travel out of their home countries each year. France, the top destination, gets an astounding 77 million tourists a year.

On the other hand, there are only two Asian countries in the top 10 (countries which get the highest number of tourists) - China with 56 million tourists (third) and Malaysia with 25 million (ninth place). No SAARC country has entered the top 10 even in the Asia-Pacific list, leave alone the international top 10. The Asia Pacific list is headed by China. India is in the top 50 tourism destinations, around the 38-40 mark.

Marketing strategies

Singapore, a tiny island with just a fraction of the diversity on offer in Sri Lanka, receives an astonishing eight-nine million tourists a year and Macau, the former Portuguese colony, gets 11 million. The secret of their success seems to be a good marketing strategy for their man-made and natural attractions, coupled with excellent connectivity and special events such as shopping festivals. This is indeed food for thought.

SAARC has a lot of work to do to realise its tourism potential and go up the rankings. Conflict is preventing many travellers from visiting Afghanistan, Pakistan and to some extent, India. Some SAARC countries such as Bhutan are still ‘virgin’ tourism destinations, having been opened rather recently.

Bangladesh is not somehow on the world tourism radar, despite having many cultural, archaeological and natural sites worth visiting. Nepal is still seen in the light of the Buddhist pilgrim circuit and Everest, though there are plenty of other attractions. Maldives has become one of the most sought after destinations, but it too should diversify.

Although SAARC countries are free to promote their countries individually, the time has come to think of promoting the region as a whole, collectively. It is heartening to note that SAARC tourism ministers are moving in this direction.

There are several tangible steps that can be taken in this regard. SAARC should project a united front for tourism, especially through websites and new media such as Facebook and Twitter.

How about a SAARC Tourism page on Facebook or updates on the latest tourism deals in the SAARC region on Twitter? There should also be iPad/iPhone, Android and Kindle Fire apps for promoting tourism in the SAARC region.

It would be interesting if Augmented Reality applications could be developed at least for top sites such as Taj Mahal, Sigiriya, Taxila and Lumbini. Media outlets in the region have a major role to play in developing the tourism industry, along with Government authorities.

More connections

SAARC cities should have more air and sea connections where applicable, apart from border crossings. True, there are some conflict situations which may impede the latter at present, but SAARC should take the long view. If there are more airline connections, it would be possible for SAARC countries to introduce an air pass for travellers from within and outside SAARC.

The air pass concept is well established in many regions, giving the traveller an opportunity to explore all the top tourist sites in a given region at a concessionary rate. Even hotels could be co-opted to this package scheme. More ferry connections will also help – as seen by the India-Sri Lanka ferry now in operation.

Another option that should be considered in the long term is a SAARC Tourist Visa for those outside the region. This way, a traveller from say, the UK, will be able to travel to New Delhi first and then visit one or more SAARC countries without any hassle. It will be a seamless, borderless experience for such a traveller. It would be a win-win situation for both SAARC and the tourist(s).

Incredibly, intra-region tourism is still in its infancy in SAARC, 25 years after its formation. With a population nearing two billion and an expanding middle class with a disposable income, SAARC is yet to fully exploit its own citizens’ penchant for travel. Many of them do travel to countries outside SAARC, thereby causing the loss of a good revenue stream for SAARC.

Moreover, developing intra-SAARC tourism is one sure way of achieving better people-to-people contact. Again, SAARC should have a long-term plan for visa-free travel for SAARC citizens within their region, European Union-style, to pave the way for an explosion in travel within SAARC. It goes without saying that SAARC countries should also encourage more domestic tourism.

SAARC has the potential to truly ‘arrive’ on the world tourism map with a vast increase in visitor numbers. All SAARC tourism stakeholders in Government and private sectors must strive to develop the industry by offering a unique SAARC product that no other region can deliver.