Pasikuda, a tourist marvel

By Dhaneshi Yatawara

The Pasikuda beach

People at the beach

New toilets and bathing facilities for visitors

Today the pearl white beaches and unruffled sea waves attract thousands of beach lovers to Pasikuda. Before peace was restored in the country in 2009 after the end of three decades of war against terrorism, this destination becoming a tourist marvel was beyond comprehension.

Way back from 1971 until 1983, Pasikuda was a popular tourist destination with unending potential for development. Plagued by terrorism these tranquil beaches were in darkness for decades.

As a major part of East was freed from terrorism, along with the Government initiated mega development project 'Eastern Revival', tourism flourished in several areas including Trincomalee with star class hotels being built. It is in this backdrop that the Government launched a special program to develop Pasikuda and Kalkuda as tourist destinations.

The authenticity, compactness and diversity this island nation has makes it hard to stop it becoming a heartthrob for travellers. Yet much to be done. Roads had to be rebuilt and improved, land had to be allocated for hoteliers and a specific plan became necessary to develop the tourism industry in these areas and ensure that the benefits reached the grass roots level of the local communities. Today the Pasikuda bay is a line of high-end hotels and a beach that gets crowded every weekend by people from all over the country.

"The local authorities tell us that on weekends more than 4,000 people on an average come to Pasikuda. This is a huge number compared to the recent past, when no tourist came to this beach," said Director (Tourism, Planning and Development) of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), P.U. Rathnayake.Prior to 1983, Pasikuda was a popular resort for both foreign and local tourists with 171 rooms available in three hotels and with necessary infrastructure facilities in place. Water was supplied from the Valachchenai Paper Mills which is about 10 km from the resort.

Even today the Pasikuda tourist zone receives a continuous supply of water from the Valachchanai Paper Mill water source. With new improvements in power supply, the zone receives power and energy to run round-the-clock operations of the industry.

"There are more roads that need to be developed and we are discussing with officials of the Road Development Authority to carpet the roads," said Rathnayake.

Transport

In attracting the high-end foreign tourist market to Pasikuda inland air transport is a crucial factor. A tourist has to travel across the country if they are to reach the Eastern beauty spots which would consume half-a-day which will be discouraging factor for a traveller with a tight itinerary. The operations are in full swing at the Trincomalee air port and is overloaded with work. The Baticaloa airstrip while being in operation once a week. It is being upgraded to become fully-fledged as the Trincomalee airport. Authorities plan to complete the Baticaloa airport upgrade in a few months.

To sustain the tourism industry the area needs to focus on the budget traveller too.

Thus for the foreign and local budget travellers, train transport will be upgraded as it is the most convenient transport mode for these areas, according to Rathnayake. "The nearest station is Kalkuda and we are discussing with the railway authorities to develop the station and improve the infrastructure," he said.

Special guidelines were also issued with the number of rooms each hotel needs to have and on star classification. Strict environmental regulations had to be met and a 45-metre buffer zone from the sea too had to be maintained. No skyscrapers are allowed and there is a limit to the number of rooms that could be built on one acre of land. With the upsurge in tourist arrivals to the Zone, the people around the area will get economically strengthened. To provide more activities for the tourists, a shopping bazaar, an art gallery, an aquarium, an open air theatre, cycling path and golf route are expected to come up in the zone. A car park, a bus park will also come up alongside these luxuries to make it a more feasible destination.

"We have requested the hoteliers to employ to 20 percent of their work force from within 20 kilometres of the hotel. With this we hope to provide employment to the local youth who are moving away from the area to find a way to live. By providing them a job in their own area we are helping them to live a less complicated life," he said.

One of the biggest obstacles hoteliers face at the moment is purchasing standard quality fish and vegetable produce from the local communities as the local people are still unaware of the standards and regulations the star class hotels follow. Rathnayake said that SLTDA has planned a broad community awareness program in the area to educate farmers and fishing communities on how they could improve their economy using the best of the tourism industry.

"We want the medium and small scale service providers to the industry to emerge from within the local communities because their needs to be accommodation and food for the domestic and budget tourist. Thus tourism development in this area has a broader spectrum," he said.

Strategic plan

A strategic, medium-term, 10-year infrastructure and product and development plan has been implemented for the tourism industry of the country. This strategic plan is based on market demand for high and mid-end markets. The plan hopes to gain profitability through better yields, sustain the integrity and value of Sri Lanka's natural, cultural and human resources, and to ensure optimum visitor experiences.

The SLTDA hopes that the benefits of the strategic plan will accrue to all communities connected with the tourism industry.

As an initial step the Ministry of Economic Development officially launched a five-year Tourism Development Strategy for the period 2011-2016. The five-year master plan strategy document of the Economic Development Ministry refers to the 2020 plans as envisaged by the Finance Ministry as well. The specific strategies related to the five-year plan are: creating an environment conducive for tourism, attracting the right type of tourists, ensuring that departing tourists are happy, improving domestic tourism and improving the global image of Sri Lanka.

The initiatives and policies of the plan will act as a benchmark for the tourism sector for the next five years to prepare the industry to move forward to achieve targets specified up to 2020.The expectations set for the development of tourism industry in the said period covers all aspects of infrastructure development, standardisation of products and services, improving brand awareness and finally gearing all efforts towards achieving sustainability in the long run as a booming sector directly contributing a large share to Sri Lanka's economic development. At the end of every effort the benefits earned through the natural resources of the country should be effectively delivered to the people as tourism is a people's industry.