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By Charumini de Silva
Sri Lanka Tourism on Friday launched a two-day special program to celebrate World Tourism Day 2019 themed ‘Tourism and jobs: a better future for all’.
Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) along with other key institutions in the industry under the guidance of Tourism Development John Amaratunga kicked off the official ceremony at the Arcade Independence Square in Colombo.
This year, World Tourism Day events were held in three different tourism hotspots in the Sri Lanka – Colombo, Bentota and Arugam Bay. The special program in Colombo included a two-day exhibition, job fair, street food festival and an entertainment program.
Speaking at the official ceremony Minister Amaratunga said this year’s World Tourism Day was of greater significance for Sri Lanka following the Easter Sunday tragedy which brought the tourism industry to its knees. 
However, he said the silver lining was that all stakeholders united as ‘one’ and worked hard to revive the industry.
“Today as a result of that effort, our tourism industry has recovered much faster than anticipated. Let us use this unity to strengthen and resolve to achieve this year’s global theme of ‘education and employment in tourism’ to add greater value to our national economy,” Amaratunga stressed.
The Minister pointed out due to the combined efforts of all stakeholders in less than six months, the country have been able to make a full recovery with the winter booking pattern almost returning to normal.
“Many hotels and other stakeholders used the lean period over the past few months to train and develop human resources, while some unfortunately had to lay off staff. But that was temporary as things are now fast returning to normal. It is my hope that this special day will help enlighten society at large on the importance of the tourism industry for our economy, where nearly two million people are estimated to be directly and indirectly dependent on it, accounting for over 5% of the country’s GDP,” he added.
He also said today Sri Lanka is being featured on CNN every few minutes and this campaign will continue for the next three months.
Sri Lanka which has experienced both the ups and downs of tourism, Amaratunga said has the potential to be a “case study” for the global tourism industry.
“I am happy that the planned tourism projects are all going ahead and my Ministry is spearheading the revival efforts. We have now doubled our efforts to work towards the goal of making tourism the leading revenue earner for the country. We are also very conscious of the manner in which we manage our tourism resources so as to ensure sustainability and economic viability,” he added.
“Development of sustainable tourism is the key to long-term success of the industry,” he said, adding that it was critical to focus on engaging local communities in conservation, promotion and sustainable development of the industry through the medium of education.
The Minister said such an effort on our part will also contribute positively to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Tourism Development Ministry Secretary S. Hettiarachchi said tourism development is no longer a choice or a luxury, but a necessity for development, diversification of national economy and the creation of jobs.
In this backdrop, he said the Government has given great emphasis within the National Vision and Strategy to play a vital role in supporting the economy.
Hettiarachchi said tourism industry supported generation of 388,487 jobs in 2018, while earning a total revenue of $ 4.3 billion contributing 4.93% to the GDP.
“Despite the unfortunate Easter Sunday tragedy, the industry has recorded a total earning of over $ 2.5 billion as at end of August. I am hopeful that we will be able to employ 600,000 with 10% women workforce in tourism and supporting industries by 2022,” he added.
According to the Ministry Secretary tourism industry already directly employs 500,000 people, with another one million jobs are generated indirectly.
Hettiarachchi also noted that tourism was a great tool for bridging the communication and cultural gaps as well as for disseminating the values of tolerance and openness.
SLTDA Chairman Johanne Jayaratne said this year’s World Tourism Day in Colombo is a tribute to all those who suffered and to those who faced and continue to face challenges as the industry stabilises.
“While our thoughts and well wishes continue to remain with those who fell victim to this atrocity on Easter Sunday, we also place on record that Sri Lanka’s resiliency and perseverance have prevailed over the past few months given the increasing arrival numbers post incident and total tourist arrivals estimated at two million plus for this year as opposed to 2.33 million in 2018,” he added.
As the tourism industry in Sri Lanka reinvents itself he said jobs that were lost are being resurrected and new positions are being created.
“Industry training institutes tell me that they are having a hard time fulfilling the industry’s HR requirements – a good problem to have! We are well on our way and in keeping with this year’s World Tourism theme, ‘Tourism and Jobs: A better future for all’. We are all about our real people and culture, real adventure experiences and real nature,” he said.
Like a rubber band, the mind once stretched, never returns to its original form; he said the experiences that await the traveller to Sri Lanka, offers just that.
“We welcome the world to come visit us in Sri Lanka. Come experience, recharge and reconnect. Come discover this island nation,” Jayaratne urged.
The program was followed by a panel discussion with Tourism Development Authority Director General Upali Rathnayake speaking on tourism trends and outlook, Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management Chairman Dilip De Silva on tourism career paths and opportunities in tourism, Hotels Association (THASL) CEO Amal Goonathilake on Investing in People to Develop the Hospitality Sector, Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) Secretary and Managing Director Wayfarers Ltd. Nishad Wijetunga on Employment Trends and Trends in Travel Sector, Hilton Yala General Manager Gitanjali Chakravarthy on Women in Tourism, Tengri UAV Ltd. C-Founder, Chairman and CEO Eric Wickramanayake on Entrepreneurship in Tourism, Anexta INC Million Spaces Founder, Chairman and CEO Prasath Nanayakkara on Cross-Domain in Tourism and PickMe – Digital Mobility Solutions Lanka Founder and CEO Jiffry Zulfer on Tourism and Innovation: Technology in Tourism. It was moderated by Daily FT Editor and Chief Executive Nisthar Cassim.
Pix by Lasantha Kumara
