Protecting tourists

Wednesday, 20 April 2016 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lanka’s tourism industry was an expected boon that galvanised the country at the end of the war. In the last seven years it has been steadily growing and rising up the ranks as one of Sri Lanka’s top foreign exchange earners. This year the industry is expected to hit two million arrivals and an estimated $3 billion in earnings, but these glossy numbers hide a deep concern about the fate of this growth if tourists are not protected.

This week the attack on two Scottish women hit headlines after they had to stab their assailant with a pen to get away. A three-wheeler driver from Kandy had allegedly lured them to a deserted shack where he had attempted to molest them. The latest incident follows several other rounds of attacks on tourists, the use of date rape drugs on unsuspecting tourists at a southern hotel and the most famous of them all – the alleged rape of a Russian tourist and the murder of her friend by a former provincial politician during the previous Government. The delay in justice in the Boxing Day crime, as it later came to be known, did not go by unnoticed and underscored Sri Lanka’s larger challenges on the judicial front.

In many of these incidents the target was a woman. Sri Lanka has consistently had high rape and abuse statistics, both for women and children, and it could be argued that this social problem has seeped into the tourism industry where foreign women are targeted more because of the stereotypical idea that they are seen as “lose women”.

It is tempting to brush away these incidents by saying that they do not result in a significant reduction of tourist numbers but that does not allay the very real possibility that these numbers can add up and taint the reputation of Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, eventually. A large number of arrivals, in fact more than 50% on average, are low to moderate spending tourists that stay in guest houses or home stays and funds the burgeoning informal sector of tourism. They are often young and travel alone or in small groups and country at large has to ensure their security. Their curiosity and explorations should not be tainted by the horrid experience of harassment or abuse.

Petty crime is another massive problem where inexperienced tourists are often made victims. It is true that the industry cannot single handedly address these security issues on their own but there is a growing need for companies and the relevant Government authorities to come together to find solutions. Harassment on public transport including three-wheelers, for example, is more than 90% in Sri Lanka and almost any woman can detail a bad experience if asked. Yet despite many complaints nothing has ever been done by policymakers or law enforcement authorities to address it, despite the existence of easy and cost effective solutions such as having plain clothes female police officers ride public transport to apprehend offenders.

Between education and awareness is a good place to start and it is doubly important because this is an effort to protect both locals as well as foreigners.