Cricket tourism

The tourism industry is at the zenith in Sri Lanka today. So is cricket. We won the World Cup in 1996. Thereafter we became runners up twice, which is a rare distinction. There are ups and downs in any game. Cricket is no exception. But the fact that we are in the zenith of the game is accepted among cricket fans and cricket lovers worldwide.

Cricket helps nations in various ways. It helps tourism and investment promotion apart from image building. Tourism is a travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. It has become a popular global leisure activity.

Sri Lanka has all the ingredients to be a sought for tourist destination. Tourists look for destinations for peace, peaceful relaxation, sightseeing, visit archaeological sites, medical, exploration, education and various other reasons.

Sri Lanka has been a known beautiful island from the time naval explorers visited the ‘Pearl of the Indian Ocean’ as merchants, pirates, cultural and religious explorations. It is famous among merchants a beautiful paradise with golden beaches (thambapannie).

As a result of the long-drawn war Sri Lanka’s image has been tarnished as an area of dispute and war. Today as a result of the eradication of terrorism forever, Sri Lanka has transformed into one of the most secure and safe nations on the globe, which are main ingredients for tourism and investment.

Today in Sri Lanka tourism and investments are booming and stock market is on the rise as one of the best performing markets in the world. Not a single incident of terror has been reported after the complete eradication of terrorism two years ago, which is a world record as the Sri Lankan fight against terror had been considered as an unwinnable war over the most feared and ruthless terrorist outfit which had a worldwide network. These factors catalysed the improvement of the image of the country and enhanced tourism and investment confidence.

The beauty of Sri Lanka with the warmth and the friendly nature of its people is one of the main attractions for the tourists. With over 250,000 archaeological sites including the famous Sigiriya rock city and Anuradhapura with its ancient city, waterfalls, river network, elephant orphanage, wildlife with thick jungles and the river network originating from the hill country and embracing the sea in various corners of the island, beautiful water falls in the hill, life, change of climates in few hours’ drive with slow seasonal changes so that the country is suitable for tourists any time of the year with the facility of reaching the changes of climate in few hours and beautiful sandy beaches with shallow sea are among additional attractions for tourists and tourism. Agri tourism, culinary tourism, cultural tourism, eco tourism, education tourism, extreme tourism, geo tourism, heritage tourism, medical tourism, ethical tourism, pop-culture tourism, cricket tourism, sports tourism, religious tourism, slum tourism, space tourism, war tourism and wildlife tourism and many other forms of tourism are mooted by countries depending on the climatic, cultural and other factors promoting tourism in other tourist attractions in the world. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) forecasts that international tourism will continue growing at the average annual rate of 4%. With the advent of e-commerce, tourism products have become one of the most traded on the internet.

Tourism products and services have been made available through intermediaries. Although services have been made available through intermediaries, tourism providers can sell their services directly. Cricket and sports have invaded the internet, giving tourism priority as a most sought for event on the computer, mobile and now the iPad. The other attraction is the large sums of funds in sports which obviously connect to tours and tourism. In the circumstances Sri Lanka has become a main beneficiary on tourism and cricket.

It is time for us to move and move forward to achieve our target of becoming the ‘Wonder of Asia’ in a few years. In the process we have to regenerate our image, promote investment, tourism, economy, infrastructure and an environment conducive as a haven for investors being an investment-friendly system and a system of government and governance.

No doubt we have to start with the tourism industry, which is easy to promote due to the geographical location of the country, its natural beauty, climate conditions and friendly nature of the people.

Cricket has become a part of our culture and way of life. It is so integrated with society that Sri Lankans are synonymous with cricket. The once World Cup winners have embraced the game which originated in England in the 16th century. It is time tourism turned into a movement of no return if not a revolution, green or white kind. For Sri Lanka, cricket tourism seems considerable.

Cricket has been having and will continue to have a ripple effect on tourism and the economy. In Sri Lanka 600,000 skilled workers will be needed by 2016 to reach the 2.5 billion revenue anticipated. The eight test matches to be played in the UAE with Pakistan organised jointly by the Cricket Board in Sri Lanka and UAE are in motion with the participation of expatriate workers mainly from the South Asian sub continent consisting of 80% of the total population of the United Arab Emirates.

Sri Lanka and Pakistan are playing friendly matches outside nations in the spirit of friendship and love. Both countries have bled heavily due to terrorism and needs adjustments politically and economically in a peaceful atmosphere. Cricketers are goodwill ambassadors of any nation. Cricket reflects unity and acts as a link for nations and regions. South Asia is synonymous with cricket; India, Pakistan and Bangladesh being cricket playing nations. Now Afghanistan too is improving fast.

Cricket has done yeoman service to Sri Lanka. We have cricket legends and more are in the making. The Cricket Board in the UAE is active and engaged heavily in the game.

The rulers including the Emirate’s Cricket Board Chairman Sheikh Nahayan Mubarak Al Nahayan and the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research is a live wire in UAE cricket and a tower of strength to cricket fans and cricketing nations worldwide. Cricket for Pakistan and Sri Lanka is a language, culture and a link of goodwill. Matches organised by the Cricket Boards of Sri Lanka, Pakistan and UAE are played with this spirit of goodwill and friendship. Pakistan has been close and helpful to Sri Lanka during difficult times when help from the world was not forthcoming.

Sri Lankan and Pakistan ambassadors and the embassies closely work hand-in-hand in the organisation of the eight test matches, one day and 20x20 matches during the months of October and November. These matches will benefit Pakistan, UAE and Sri Lanka in the promotion of cricket, tourism and friendly relations among the countries and the UAE and South Asian regions.

(The writer is Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.)