Tourism industry lost a golden opportunity

by Lalin Fernandopulle

Sri Lanka Tourism under the former regime was a ‘one-man show’ that paved the way to a half-baked administrative structure, lack of transparency in data and stagnation in the number of employees that stifled growth of the industry.

A tourism industry expert said that the industry failed to capitalise on the golden opportunity it received after a long spell to revive and regain the momentum.

The industry that was manned by experienced professionals over the years was confined to inexperienced and biased personnel who were mostly ‘yes men’ to superiors.

Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hospitality Management Board member and Past President of Sri Lanka Tourist Hotels Association Srilal Miththapala said that the private sector which plays a pivotal role and the real driver of tourism was poorly represented in the administration.

“The private sector representation was limited to a few who supported the administration and did not make constructive criticism.

The administration had no clear strategic plan on how the industry should be developed in a sustainable manner,” he said.

The objective of having the private sector representation is to broadbase the tourism decision-making infrastructure, a move supported by the Finance Act No. 25 of 2003 which enabled the collection ofself-imposed cess form the industry for promotion and development.

The Sri Lanka tourism industry is a private sector led industry.

Apart from the meagre private sector representation, the administrative structure was not set up according to the Tourism Act which sought to unbundle the monolithic structure into four independent bodies such as the Sri Lanka Tourism administrative structure which comprises the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hospitality Management and the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau which should be headed by a chief executive officer.

“The four independent bodies of Sri Lanka Tourism were not headed by separate heads in line with the Act,” Miththapala said.

There was no clear long-term marketing strategy to promote tourism. Though ad hoc intense promotions helped promote tourism they were not long-term strategies to develop the industry with a vibrant private-public sector collaboration.As agreed upon by experts, although short-term intense campaigns help gain quick results they are not sustainable in the long term. They said it was more a ‘shotgun approach’ with ad hoc concentration of individual campaigns. Inconsistency in the branding strategy reveals the ad hoc nature of marketing the destination. The ‘Small Miracle’ branding strategy launched in 2008 was laid to rest with Sri Lanka Tourism meandering through various ad hoc slogans such as ‘Visit Sri Lanka 2011’, ‘Refreshingly Sri Lanka’ and ‘Wonder of Asia’.

Without a clear marketing strategy to identify our selling propositions and positioning, long-term growth cannot be achieved, tourism experts said. Untimely, inaccurate and delayed tourism data hindered strategic decision-making. There had been controversy over arrival statistics.

The methodology of computing arrival was changed suddenly in December 2013. The Sri Lanka Tourism Annual Statistical Report of 2013 which has not still been published speaks volumes of the state of the administration, experts said.

They said that the vast informal sector in the industry should be regulated. There should be value addition to this sector through training and regulation.

The shortage of staff is a time bomb that the industry has been sitting on for several years. Currently there are around 75,000 employees in the hotel industry which needs around 200,000 to 300,000 workers to cater to the 2.5 million tourism arrival target. “There is increased interest to join the tourism industry but with a wrong perception. Many youngsters think that they could could reach the top within a short time.

The path to achievement is arduous but success is assured to those who strive,” Miththapala said. He said the hotel school should be expanded to meet the growing need for staff. The school produces around 2,000 to 3,000 trained personnel each year. Unregulated institutions have mushroomed in the country. The human resource shortage should be addressed urgently to tide over challenges.