A billion leisure travellers girdling the globe and flushing national economies with a trillion dollars is what world tourism is about. This translates to 2.7 million tourist arrivals and an expenditure level of $3 billion each day in the host countries.

The first 10 of the wealthiest countries share 67% of world GDP.

Six among them are the topmost tourism spenders. They also enjoy the highest position in tourism receipts.

Six of the 10, account for the highest tourist arrivals as well.

Clearly, leisure is for the affluent and tourism is managed for the wealthy.

"This world is not for those who don’t have wealth", said a Tamil poet cryptically 2,000 years ago. States alive to modern developments vie for a share of the pie. Polities fearing a ravishing of their native culture opt to preserve its virgin serenity.

Material emasculation draws them in at a later date. Governments that were prudent and pragmatic have moved into enviable positions. Malaysia is a classic case in point.

Vision 2020

UNWTO has worked out its Vision 2020, providing realizable growth levels that are likely to be reached.

It is forecast that arrivals worldwide would be 1,560 million by that time. Thailand is estimated to get over 30 million and the South Asian region 19 million. In this region, India will have 8.9 million while Sri Lanka will get 1.4 million. These figures are neither a target nor a ceiling nor a quota. Taking the cue from the lacklustre performance of South Asia, the WTO is unable to pitch the figures higher. Any country of some mettle can blast through and record infinitely higher performance.

The massive expansion of world tourism that is forecast should inspire enthusiastic endeavour in any country that is earnest about development and promotion to garner a good share of tourism wealth.

If tourism cannot see expansion in Sri Lanka, in no part of the world can it be developed.

Such realization should be apparent when all the natural endowments are duly recognized.

As immense as the possibilities are also the responsibilities to be shouldered, the initiatives to be taken and the programmes to be executed.

The first essential is to change the image from a country in truce, to a nation at peace.

The whole country should be brought within the ambit of tourism development with all tourists having seamless access. The state should be the industry’s patron.

Programmes of development have to be undertaken by the industry with a comprehensive range of initiatives under state aegis.

A ‘rough diamond’ is the best description of Sri Lanka as a tourist destination. Skillful cutting should bring forth the dazzle.

At the touch of investment the surfeit of natural endowments can be turned into preferred tourist attractions.

The tourism product needs extensive diversification and a wide geographical spread to project the uniqueness of each of the attractions. Beautiful beaches and ever smiling faces, are worn out clichés. So is the fossilized idea of food festivals. A multiplicity of new creations appropriate for an ever changing touring public is needed.

To name a few, undersea world, night safari, wild life sanctuaries, elephant orphanages, botanical gardens, coastal cruising, boating in lagoons, boat houses, golf courses and a host of other attractions need to be developed anew. Literally the land should be littered with them.

Priority attractions are better known to the industry and investment priorities are best known to foreign investors.

Foreign direct investment

Having presented a coveted image of the country, the state and the industry have to jointly engage in developing an altogether new tourism product with novel features, unconventional attractions and enticing facilities.

Providing them all comprehensively at an accelerated pace, to make amends for the 27 year inter regnum from 1983 – 2010, is an insuperable task for indigenous investment. If the country thinks large, the product along with appurtenant facilities will require an investment of Rs.50 billion or more before 2020.

The hotel sector is by far the costliest investment area. Graded establishments of 3 to 5 star category are the preferred choice of discerning tourists. Availability in 2009 was 242 establishments with 14,461 rooms. They work out to 60 rooms per hotel.

A comparison may be drawn with Malaysia having 2,373 hotels with a room strength of 165,739. There is an average of 70 rooms per hotel. In 2009, Sri Lanka had around 40% occupancy with 10 nights stay duration. For such a pattern of stay, an additional room strength of 40,000 will be needed. An investment of Rs.300 billion at Rs.7.5 million per room may be needed. This would work out to an average of Rs.30 billion per year, for delivering hotel rooms, if tourist arrivals are targeted at 4 million by 2020. Thus the annual outlay on the product and accommodation would be in excess of Rs.35 billion.

One’s experience and judgment would show that an infusion of massive foreign capital is needed to launch Sri Lanka’s tourism into the trajectory of growth. Enclaves in Special Economic Zones (SEZ), holding out enticing long term fiscal incentives can make this proposition work. A Build Operate Transfer (BOT) mode can be attractive.

One hundred percent foreign direct investment needs to be permitted while encouraging foreign and indigenous partnership. Since infrastructure is necessarily the state’s contribution, the commitment of the state as undertaking this responsibility should be widely publicized. This would transmit signals of the government’s faith in the viability and efficacy of Public Private Partnership (PPP). Investments in hotels and in the travel trade are complementary. The participants who are stakeholders should be major investors. It’s best for the industry for both foreigners and locals to join together.

Environment

Tourism statistics drive home certain truths. Some of the wealthiest countries are among the largest generating markets. It’s easily understandable. Bertrand Russel said, "to be able to fill leisure intelligently is the last product of civilization".

Travel is seen by them as an intelligent way of filling their leisure. The wealthiest are leisured and they make intelligent choices. Their preference is for the best of environment and the best in aesthetic appeal whether of stone or of art. There was no seeming propensity for rusticity nor visitation of tribals or veddhas. Germans were the highest spenders at $91 billion and fourth wealthiest in 2008. France had the largest tourist arrivals at 79 million. The US, first in GDP, earned the highest in tourism receipts with $ 110 billion. High end tourists reached for up market facilities and money’s worth. The moral is - to get a fair share of global prosperity, very rapid transformation from third world to first is imperative.

Malaysia and Sri Lanka

In the early sixties of the last century, Malaysia and Sri Lanka had tourist arrivals of comparable magnitude, hovering around 20,000.

Sri Lanka increased her arrivals to 407,000 in 1982 which after many a vicissitude reached 448,000 in 2009. In that year, Malaysia had 23.6 million tourists. Independence in 1957 was followed by political consolidation in Malaysia. Half a century of peace and prosperity was the consequence and enviable tourism earnings a fallout.

Malaysia was alive to the need in prospecting for fresh avenues of wealth generation. Exponential development of international tourism was more than visible to many a country.

Malaysia had the discernment to realize the potential that tourism held out and the resolve to develop it. Proactive attitudes manifested in extensive state support for growth and expansion. The eighties saw a great fillip to tourism. Malaysia had the benefit of the vision and dynamism of Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, the Prime Minister for a quarter century.

He expressed his expansive horizon with unconventionally high targets, setting the pace for the managers of tourism. Ample budgetary resources buttressed the ambitious sights. Infernal spoilers – environmentalists – were kept in their place. He was perhaps the rarest head of government who commanded the confidence to have done so. On tourism issues, he exercised his authority like an Executive President. In 1993, even as the budget for the following year was being discussed, he announced a doubling of the promotion allocation.

Sri Lanka’s predicament was a study in contrast. Though war was a factor, it was urged as an extenuating argument quite inordinately. It was invoked to mask all the circumstances of default. Wider horizons, the verve to be decisive, imperviousness to the rustling of detractors, dissipation of negative and defensive attitudes of both private and public sectors and a proactive stance of liberal allocations by the government would have conduced to an altogether different picture.

From 1983, Sri Lanka placed her tourism sights low in the name of achievable ‘realistic’ targets. Once a foreigner told a Singaporean, you people want to be first in everything. Why don’t you settle down to second place and be relaxed? Came the reply from the Singaporean, why not settle down to third place and be more relaxed? Sri Lanka can teach any tourist how to relax.

Prospects

For Sri Lanka to shine brightly upon the tourist map of the world, all circumstances exist. War apart, detractions were many. Expansive minds will think of sharing a bigger slice from a larger cake.

Sri Lankan tourism can achieve 4 million arrivals by 2020. Not even 1.4 million will be realized if hackneyed paths are not abandoned. Development is of the mind. "Our minds build cathedrals before the workmen have moved a stone"- said Prof. Whitehead.

Source The Island