Tourism sector sickened by government’s apathy towards industry revival

• Industry stakeholders say recent govt. actions to silence its citizenry will kill SL’s tourism
• Point out the delayed integrated tourism promotional campaign now makes little sense as SL has nothing positive to promote 

By Shabiya Ali Ahlam
Sri Lanka’s tourism sector, which continues to face regular hurdles in its efforts towards revival, is likely to experience a major setback due to the harsh measures adopted by the government to silence the people from voicing their plight.

Speaking to Mirror Business yesterday, The Hotels’ Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) expressed that it is unfortunate the government got its priorities mixed up at a time when the key industries that bring forex into the country must be supported.

“The tourism industry is being killed. They are killing it. They talk much about how the sector will bring in the foreign exchange but they ignore all the issues it is going through to revive,” said THASL President M. Shantikumar.
Following the Easter Sunday attack, and then soon after the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism industry was one of the industries that were severely impacted. The sector came to an almost standstill due to 
border closures.

Just as it was slowly picking up the momentum, the industry is faced with power cuts and fuel shortages, impacting its services to tourists. While stakeholders were struggling to find solutions to stay afloat during the shortages, the government added to its woes by imposing curfews.

“The curfew was imposed within such short notice. There was hardly any time for us to make the necessary arrangements. Making matters worse was the social media ban. Tourists were unable to communicate with their families about their situation in Sri Lanka. This is highly irresponsible,” stressed Shantikumar.

“They (government) don’t think before they take such decisions. They don’t think of the impacts it has on industries. End of the day, we the stakeholders are left to deal with the consequences on our own,” he added.
Shantikumar also pointed out that the forever-delayed integrated tourism campaign will serve a lesser purpose now as there is no positive message to portray about destination Sri Lanka anymore.

Furthermore, the industry is faced with many cancellations and postponements of events. The industry is expecting a massive dip in revenue in the coming weeks.