Thoughts on moveable accommodation

I remember the Belwood Dance Academy and the Red Rock Camp of the National Youth Services Council of the early 1980s.

Charitha Ratwatte was the then Chairman of the NYSC and under his stewardship they had turned an abandoned tea factory near Kandy into a vibrant residential dancing school and the Red Rock Camp near Kuchchaveli in Trincomalee into an quality camping cum training facility.

These were both sound tourism products, one catalytic in setting up of what was an excellent Sri Lankan traditional dance, song and music troupe and the other an accommodation facility with least impact on the natural environment that could cater to both domestic and foreign visitors and our own youth at very reasonable costs. What stood out about both was the seeking of excellence and the efficacy and the consistent quality of its management.

As Head of Research and Marketing of the Tourist Board then, I travelled with the Belwood dancers to several tourism events abroad and the high level of their performances, the conduct and discipline impressed us all. It was the same with the campsite, it was well managed and I recollect spending some quality time there on several occasions.

I also remember the many instances when a group of us led by Professor Sarath Kotagama trekked the coasts of Sri Lanka for days, spending our nights camping out under the sky or tree canopy, cooking our own meals, enjoying our natural environment to the fullest. There were many other treks to the hills and other nooks and corners of our lovely land.

We must remember that these were days before ‘ecotourism’ became a buzz word. They were also the early days of attempts at alternative tourism product development and a time when it was difficult to find a reasonable level of quality in many such operations. We often had instances of undisciplined performers, who were looking at opportunities to stay back in the countries they visited for performances.

The interest in the environment was not as sharp as it is today and seeking outdoor experiences was limited to a select group of wildlife and nature enthusiasts or the Boy Scouts. The NYSC presentations of that time were indeed exceptions to the rule.

Today, we have several dance troupes and ecotourism and camping facilities that maintain high standards of quality and the need is for much more. We also have a few ‘Outward Bound’ type training cum recreation facilities that have been set up.

While the quality and availability of performance troupes are today not an issue, the idea of developing alternative accommodation away from that of the conventional hotel or resort model is wanting. Home-stays, campsites and floating hotels are being talked about and promoted. In fact, a commendable initiative from our Navy is presented in operating the ‘Jetliner’ ship around our shores, as a floating reception facility and a small cruise liner.

Sustainability of any industry is not about making fat profits when the going is good and letting those dependent suffer when it falls short. It is also not about making out of scale investment of resources with much cost to the natural and human environment and is certainly not about ruining the pristine nature of a destination.

The model of evaluating ‘profit’ through pure bottom-line gains made in the short-term does not bode well for an industry such as tourism that is dependent almost entirely on the natural and cultural resource base for its existence. Scale, carrying capacity considerations and benefit to most are the prime ingredients in the formula for creating a sustainable tourism industry for a destination the likes of Sri Lanka.

We often observe or experience how tourism becomes the first casualty of any type of unpredicted natural or manmade calamity. Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis as well as terrorism, civil unrest, war, regional instability, pandemics, economic downturns, they all impact immediately on tourism operations at destinations where they take place or those around that location.

This causes shortfalls on visitor arrivals resulting in having to carry inventory of empty rooms, lower levels of incomes for those employed, dependent mostly on service charges they earn and members of communities around that depend on providing support supply services for these facilities.

I recall Charitha calling me once again in 2008, during my time as the Head of Sri Lanka Tourism to tell me of the merits of establishing sites for Mobile Recreational Vehicles (MRVs).

He referred to setting up recreational sites with basic facilities such as toilets and electrical outlets at different parts of the country and providing a tax break for the import of reconditioned RMV vehicles for hire to visitors both local and foreign.

It was before the end of the terrorist menace and our hotels were finding it difficult to fill their rooms and needed every customer they could get. Thus, most thought that the time was not ripe then, for this idea to take off.

Today, it is different. We are short of accommodation facilities and policy drives that communities must benefit more from tourism as direct stake holders. We could perhaps develop an operational model where local communities could participate in the operation of MRV parks and sites, combining them with other moveable and flexible accommodation facilities such as camp sites and clusters of rooms in homes.

There are today RMVs equipped to use both conventional and alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power, a feature that makes them even more attractive. Here we must not look at the operational models prevalent in the USA, Europe or Australia, but carve our own, borrowing the best and the most appropriate of the technology that is available.

Sri Lanka has several thousands of inland water bodies most of which could be used for tourism operations. House-boats designed to suit our climatic conditions located on these waters will also be an attractive proposition. We no doubt need to have strict norms and modes on the disposal of the waste that is generated. On shore emptying sites of retained waste and/or recycling facilities will provide some answers.

The idea of having accommodation facilities that do not require huge investment of resources and provide the flexibility of shifting locations is indeed a phenomenon that is akin to our own traditional way of life.

Our farmers in the arid zones still practice slash and burn cultivation in the ‘Chena’ method where the farming area is shifted from time to time. Proven to be a most sustainable practice to ensure the long-term maintenance of the fertility of the land, there are many lessons we can learn from such practice.

Mindful of the pressure on land and the advent of personal ownership replacing community ownership of the past, we see the waning of such techniques. Today we talk of artificial farming and bio-technology farms to gain short-term efficacies.

Yet for an activity such as tourism where uniqueness of the ‘experience’ is the key to standing tall among the ‘crowd’ of other competing destinations, Sri Lanka can indeed have a cutting edge if we were to think on the basis of retaining that uniqueness. As a visitor destination that has retained its pristine quality to a great extent, herein is our unique selling proposition

To ensure that we sustain its validity and make the most of it for the long-term future of the destination, we will need to think and act ‘different’ and it is that ‘difference’ that could provide Sri Lanka its cutting edge quality, when on its way to seeking to be the ‘Wonder of Asia’.   

(Renton de Alwis is a former Chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism serving two terms during 2000-2002 and again from 2007-2008. He served as Head of the Asia Division of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) based in Singapore from 1990-96 and as CEO of the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore from 1997-99. He also served as a Chief Technical Advisor and consultant with the ADB, UNDP, UNWTO, ESCAP, UNICEF and the ILO. Now in retirement, Renton lives away from Colombo in the Deep South of Sri Lanka and is involved in writing and social activism. He can be contacted at [email protected].)