Introduction of Tourism Industry: The immediate economic consequences
of Sri Lanka’s brutal Easter Sunday terror attacks are obvious. The damage to
tourism is the most apparent; investments decisions might be delayed. However,
as a country that had withstood more than three decades of terror prior to May
2009 and an economy that had shown resilient growth averaging 5% per annum in
that period, Sri Lanka is certainly not a novice in managing the expected
economic fallout.
Sri Lanka has a growing tourism industry. Since gaining independence
from the British in 1947, Sri Lanka has continued to attract foreign investors
and tourists to the island. The country's important placement also enables it
to attract transit visitors into the island.
Over the years, many beautiful resorts, hotels and spas have opened.
Incorporating the diverse culture of the country, the various Tourist
Establishments here offer visitors a unique, yet memorable experience to
remember with (SLTDA).
Tourism was Sri Lanka's third largest
foreign exchange earner in 2018, and hopes to become number two in 2019. Sri
Lanka is targeting three million tourists for 2019 Tourism Development Minister
John Amaratunga said, after missing a 2.5 million target for 2018 partly due to
a political and economic crisis triggered by Politicians. The
country drew 2.3 million tourists in 2018 up 10.3 percent from a year earlier,
missing a target of 2.5 million which was a growth of 18 percent.
Sri Lanka collected at least 3.5 billion
dollars in foreign exchange from tourism in 2018, the minister had previously
said in an official statement. In 2017, foreign exchange
earnings were over 3.9 billion dollars.
The total number of international tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka during
March 2019 was 244,328. In comparison to March last Year, there was a growth of
4.7% when the arrivals were 233,382. This month, the largest source market for
tourists was India, followed by the United Kingdom and China. Almost 93 % of
tourists travelled by air to Sri Lanka.
Tourism impact of attack in Sri lanka.
Tourism is Sri Lanka’s third largest and
fastest growing source of foreign currency accounting for almost $4.4 billion
of gross domestic product in 2018.
Before Sunday, the Sri Lankan government could
justifiably have expected tourism to continue its relentless pace of growth in
2019. However, beyond the mere fact of terrorism striking the country is the
nature of the attacks. Which
specifically targeted a number of luxury hotels in the capital Colombo.
"The attacks will not only impact already weak
economic activity (real GDP growth was at a 17-year low of 3.2% in 2018),
but also the country's relatively vulnerable external liquidity
position," Citibank's Asia desk said in a note, adding that the
tourism sector would suffer the biggest blow of all. At least 39 of those
killed in the attacks were foreign tourists. The Sri Lankan government has
declared a state of emergency and several governments around the world have
upgraded their travel advice for Sri Lanka.
With many countries issuing travel
advisories and categorizing Sri Lanka as a high-risk country, the potential
negative impact to the tourism industry is substantial.
Cancellations likely, but too early to say.
Several travel companies have prepared for a wave of
cancellations from tourists who were due to travel to Sri Lanka in the coming
weeks and months.
India accounted for around 20% of tourists to Sri
Lanka in 2018 (more than any other country), and two of its major airlines, Air
India and Indigo, say they will allow passengers to delay or change flights
without paying a fee. Sri Lankan Airlines, the national carrier, will do
likewise.
However, it remains to be seen exactly how much the
tragedy will affect tourism in the short term, with several travel companies,
such as Thomas Cook India and MakeMyTrip.com, a major booking portal in India,
issuing statements saying it was too early to assess the impact of the attacks
on tourist traffic.
A Swiss Air way was came to Sri Lanka with only one
passengers and this showing the situation of European especially Scandinavian
view.
Government political
intervention and expecting problem.
"The Sri Lanka tourism
industry stands united with the rest of the world against terrorism; as we
mourn this horrific tragedy, we must move forward with our enduring Sri Lankan
resilience to restore the world's faith in our beautiful island home and our
hospitality which is the heart of the Sri Lankan way of life," Sri Lanka
Tourism said.
Minister John
Amaratunga has convened a meeting of industry heads, from the Hotels
Association of Sri Lanka (THASL), Colombo City Hotels Association (CCHA) and
Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO), to take stock of the
damage as well as measures needed to ensure security in the future. Officials
from the Tourism Ministry and Foreign Affairs, as well as Police, were present
at the meeting.
Chairman Kishu Gomes explained that it
is important to review emergency response protocol in the immediate aftermath
of the attacks.
Sri Lanka Tourism was focused on
organizing our response in emergency care and assistance.
providing access to clear and accurate
information and Working with all national and local law
enforcement agencies and foreign missions to ensure the safety and security of
tourists. Addressing security issues is a prerequisite for the revival of
tourism.
Solution from policy makers and traders/ business people.
Indeed,
last December, the travel publisher Lonely Planet named Sri Lanka as the No.1
country to visit in 2019. Government is continue working closely with all
relevant authorities to support all foreign nationals in the country. Sri
Lankan police and Tri forces are working tirelessly to ensure the safety and
security of all tourists currently in Sri Lanka. This is absolutely our first
priority," said Gomes.
Sri Lanka Convention Bureau will also be present at IMEX
in Frankfurt from the 21st to the 23rd of May. IMEX is a worldwide Exhibition
for Incentive Travel, Meetings and Events, incorporating Meetings made in
Germany. The show is patronized by nearly 160 countries representing national
and regional tourist offices, major hotel groups, airlines, destination
management companies, service providers, trade associations and more. Over 3962
hosted buyers from more than 86 world markets visit IMEX. The MICE sector is a
major growth driver for the Sri Lanka market.
The only tourism and travel fair in Sri Lanka, Sancharaka
Udawa, will be held on 7 and 8 June. This unique exhibition, now in its ninth
edition is open to all businesses within the local tourism ecosystem and is
organized by Sri Lanka Association of Tour Operators (SLAITO) in collaboration
with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB). The main objective of the
exhibition is to create a platform for small and medium service providers in
the industry to network and build vital links with tour operators and enter the
wider tourism industry.
Few justification to lesion learnt from other countries:
Terrorist attacks which struck Tunisia (2015) and Egypt
(2013) led to sharp
declines in the numbers of European tourists visiting those countries in the
short term, but the overall picture is complex, according to the extensive
academic research on the topic.
Quickly Recover: Much of the data shows that countries which are struck
by terrorist attacks do not necessarily suffer a decline in tourism numbers,
and even if they do, they can quickly recover.
France. In 2015 and 2016, there were several devastating terrorist attacks in
the country which killed hundreds of people. France is traditionally the most
popular tourist destination in the world, and while the numbers did take a hit
in the immediate aftermath of the attacks in 2016, they surged in 2017 and
2018.
Given the importance of tourism to the country, the Sri Lankan
government will surely be looking for ways to minimize the damage to the sector
in the months ahead.
Ordinary Sri Lankans, dealing with the trauma and grief of Sunday is a
much more important concern at the moment.
Summery
To do this, we should not only
enhance the current framework in which we operate, but also come up with
innovative solutions and new models for travel. Within the current travel
framework, we could implement comprehensive technologically enabled solutions
to enhance security and efficiency, ranging from re-envisioning the future of
checkpoints and border controls to the improvement of data analytic tools and
the application of e-visas, regional visa agreements and the expansion of
trusted traveler programmes.
Indeed, while travel has become a
way of life for people across the globe, current frameworks often assess risk
levels on the basis of an individual’s nationality. The concept of “global
access” or a global trusted traveler programme should be developed as a tool to
enhance security and be the catalyst to shift our system verifying eligibility
to travel from “country of origin” to an individual-based system facilitated by
global cooperation. Such a system would enable “low risk” passengers to travel
in an expedited way across borders, while enhancing global security standards
through better inter-governmental cooperation.
The mounting security concerns
which have plagued society clearly show the need to reassess how we manage the
movement of people. While the solution is not to close borders and reverse many
of the positive developments of the past decade, we need to think together
about how we can keep enabling society to experience the wonders of travel in a
safe and secure environment.(World Economic Forum)
With one in every ten Sri Lankan
families depending on tourism for their livelihood both directly and
indirectly. Sri Lanka Tourism is focused
on ensuring that the right groundwork is laid to drive an effective and
efficient recovery for this critical industry. "A task force is in place and having worked diligently
over the course of the last week we are confident that a clear and actionable
process is in place, resources allocated and global expertise procured to
support the industry in its recovery.” (Chairman –SLDA). Sri Lanka could take
lesson learnt from French example suggests recovery is possible in Tourism Sector.
Reference
Sri Lanka has a growing tourism industry. Since gaining independence from the British in 1947, Sri Lanka has continued to attract foreign investors and tourists to the island. The country's important placement also enables it to attract transit visitors into the island.
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