Kimarli Fernando 

Following is the full text of Kimarli Fernando who stepped down yesterday as Sri Lanka Tourism Chairperson, an office she held for 30 months. Here is the full text of her letter to Tourism Minister  Harin Fernando.

I expect that with your appointment as Minister of Tourism on Friday 20 May you would want to appoint your own Chairmen and Boards of Directors. This is to provide notice that I resign as Chairperson of the four tourism institutions with immediate effect.

I accepted this role on an Honorary basis for the past 30 months. I took no salary, no vehicle, no allowances, foreign travel and foreign accommodation was paid by me personally. Having stepped forward to help the country I’m content that I cost the taxpayer nothing. This would be a good practice to encourage others to follow at this time of dire need.

Despite the extremely adverse circumstances during the pandemic, some significant achievements were made by Sri Lanka Tourism:

1) Completion of preparatory arrangements for the Global Promotion Campaign, now ready to be submitted to the Cabinet and commenced when the time is right. Since the war ended in 2009, we never systematically promoted in key markets, which is responsible significantly for the underperformance of our tourism. Increased yields should result for all segments of the industry if well executed.

2) The first ever TravelApp has been designed for Sri Lanka which would incorporate over 5000+ sites island-wide and an online booking facility, ensuring tourism benefits a wide geographic and demographic segment as opposed to the existing well-worn circuit resulting in over tourism and limited distribution of benefits. The Cabinet paper has been submitted for the tender.

3) We shifted focus from purely B2B, attending traditional trade shows that supported a few travel agents, to B2C marketing reaching the consumer. There is regrettably resistance amongst some segments of the industry to consumer marketing and entering the digital realm, which is the core focus of successful Tourist Boards elsewhere who promote directly to travellers and not only middlemen.

4) The implementation of technology has resulted in all registrations now being online. Re-engineering processes have reduced costs, removed outdated regulations and stopped visa issuance malpractice.

5) Approval has already been obtained from the Cabinet to provide soft liquor licenses for all SLTDA registered entities. This is now pending with the Finance Ministry to implement.

6) Cabinet approval is in hand to issue six-month Tourist Visas, pending implementation at the Immigration & Emigration Department.

I take this opportunity to thank our international partners - the airlines who are key stakeholders, funding agencies for their amazing support for our pioneering initiatives and the embassies in Sri Lanka for their partnership and belief in our country.

It is regrettable and unprofessional that we never met to review progress, to guide you on the best practices adopted. Two meetings that you fixed for 21 and 23 May were can- celled. Especially at this critical time for the nation, when tourism would provide the fastest hard currency benefits, the cavalier attitude you have displayed does not bode well. I hope I am proved wrong.

The Tourism Industry is not limited to a few Colombo based Associations represented on the Tourism Boards, known to dictate self-benefiting terms to political authorities while risking the future of an entire industry. 

A handful of ‘Veterans’ act like a ‘Cartel’, objecting to SME benefits such as the proposed minimum wage, a fair transportation cost for tourism drivers & obstructing the long overdue shift to digital marketing, which they do not understand, promoting only the age-old pre-internet trade show model. I pray that such archaic practices will not continue to relegate this country to underperform vis-a-vis its competitors.

The cartel also didn’t like my attempt to account for the dollars into the country from tourism as well as dollars to be directed to hotels who have foreign currency borrowings.

Any actions guided by such advice would demonstrate a lack of foresight and genuine commitment to change.

The industry accounts for approx. Three million of our citizens, many of whom are not represented in Associations. The past business model in the industry has largely been to undercut on pricing, selling cheap, resulting in many businesses not being financially viable from well before the Easter attacks and the pandemic. You will no doubt be requested to provide free visas and other incentives to promote the country based on “cheapness”, in the absence of the ability to market and position the destination.

The inability to understand the new traveller behaviour will continue to be detrimental to the industry. However, there are some pioneering businesses in tourism accommodation at all levels, destination management and experiences who represent the new tourism model. 

They thrive under normal business conditions. I congratulate them for their passion and innovation amidst adversity. This demonstrates what is possible in this country if we can make a genuine break with the past.

I look forward to witnessing the continuation to rebuild the industry as a safe space where nearly three million of Sri Lankans will thrive and grow.

Kimarli quits as SL Tourism Chairperson