Look beyond the numbers

THE expected has happened. Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals have reached a new high and are set to keep climbing, but as with every silver lining one must not forget the dark cloud in its midst.  

Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals in the first 10 months of the year have surpassed 2010’s record as visitors to the island nation have continued to rise every month on a year-on-year basis since May 2009.

Tourist arrivals in the first 10 months of 2011 jumped 34.2 per cent to 667,569 from a year earlier, higher than Sri Lanka’s record annual tourist arrivals of 654,476 reached last year. The arrivals rose 32.8 per cent in October from a year earlier to 69,563.

The Government is targeting annual revenue of $ 2.75 billion by 2016 from the 2.5 million expected visitors attracted by Sri Lanka’s beaches, hills and religious and historic sites, while aiming for $ 3 billion in Foreign Direct Investment. What effect the newly-passed Expropriation Bill will have on these prospects remains to be seen, but it is clear that the prognosis from the private sector has become guarded.

Sri Lanka has forecast 20 per cent growth in visitor arrivals this year to more than 780,000 people. Last year, the industry grew at 46 per cent. The island’s tourism industry drew $ 1.2 billion for investment in the first half of 2011.

Tourism revenue, which jumped 64.8 per cent in 2010 to a record $ 575.9 million, has risen 48.1 per cent in the first nine months of this year from a year earlier to $ 580.1 million, Central Bank data shows. These are all positives that are drawn by Sri Lanka’s natural beauty, its relative obscurity on the tourist map and the well-known reputation for hospitality the people are famous for.

With infrastructure improving, tourism will be one of the industries to gain a direct benefit, but it must be remembered that increasing the number of tourists does not mean that the income to Sri Lanka is used in the right way. Leaving aside the contentious issue of how the Government calculates tourist numbers, by counting every national who comes on a tourist visa irrespective of whether they actually are tourists, it is also important to see whether there is economic integration.

Sri Lanka does not want to become another Maldives, as breathtaking as the country is, because despite the massive tourist income, the socioeconomic state of the country is still poor. Nonetheless, there are points that can be learned, such as how to define and sell Sri Lanka’s tourism product and encourage more income so that the per capita income from each tourist increases.

Tourism is the largest industry in the Maldives, accounting for 28% of GDP and more than 60% of the Maldives’ foreign exchange receipts. It powered the current GDP per capita to expand 265% in the 1980s and a further 115% in the 1990s. Over 90% of government tax revenue flows in from import duties and tourism-related taxes.

There must also be the impetus to minimise environmental damage from increased tourism, an aspect that has gone begging with over 200 elephants dying since the beginning of this year. Dozens more have been displaced by the increased development and since 70% of elephants live outside protected zones, the likelihood of these gentle giants becoming an endangered species is high.

Irresponsible and often insensitive behaviour by the Government extends to not stemming the rising tide of child abuse, partly due to tourism, and indeed the industry must also concentrate on this as otherwise tourism will swiftly become a curse rather than a blessing.