Fw: "They bombed our livelihoods": sectors of Sri Lanka's tourism struggle after attacks..................
Renuke Gunarathne
"They bombed our livelihoods": sectors of Sri Lanka's tourism struggle after attacks
“Everything was good before April. Now that situation is finished ... there are no customers,” said Harshana, who said he is worried about earning enough to look after his wife and 02 children, while also meeting his monthly loan payments. The economy of Sri Lanka, a sun-drenched island in the Indian Ocean, depends heavily on the $ 4.4 billion-tourism industry. Small businesses like Pearl Divers have been on the rise since the nation’s civil war ended in 2009 and tourists poured in. But after the bombings in April, tourist arrivals slumped 70% in May and 57% in June from a year earlier. Many small businesses, that employ thousands, are now either forced to lay off staff or have them work for minimal pay. This is already having a domino effect on the economy, further hitting consumer demand.
The government has introduced a series of measures to boost tourism, including lowering airport charges, cutting taxes on jet fuel and pushing hotels to offer discounts. It is planning to relax visa rules for residents of a number of countries. It has also asked banks to lower lending rates and give loan moratoriums. But the relief is yet to reach many small businesses that make up the backbone of the economy. “Clearly it took banks a bit of time to gear up for it ... As they had to work out the decision making process,” Central Bank Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy said.
Dilum Ranjana, who owns a foot spa in the fort city of Galle in the south, said he had to fire 03 out of 07 employees and postpone plans to open a second branch because he was getting hardly any income in the past couple of months. “It is not easy to get a loan, there is a lot of paperwork and bureaucracy,” said Ranjana, who has monthly expenses of $ 2,300 in rent, bills and salaries. He said he has so far made $ 570 in July, a tenth of what he did last year. “All my plans are lost, they are ruined,” he said.
Tourism was the third-largest and fastest growing source of foreign currency for Sri Lanka last year, and accounted for 4.9% of the country’s GDP in 2018. The government expects a shortfall of $ 800 to $900 million in tourism revenue this year, which will in turn widen its current account deficit to 03% of GDP from the 2.3% it had earlier expected, a top central bank official told Reuters. The Central Bank has also slashed its growth forecast for the year to 03% from 04% earlier. “The main concern is rising non-performing loans due to sluggish economic growth after the attacks,” the official said.
When the diving business was booming, Harshana said he took a loan of $ 57,000 in 2017 to convert an old house into a no-frills hostel which earned him $ 114 a night from tourists in peak season. It is currently closed because he has no bookings. After letting him postpone loan payments of $ 630 for both May and June, the bank is giving no such concession for July, he said. “I have to manage with my savings but I don’t have much. People like us, we rise slowly; but the fall is sudden,” he said.
The island received 2.5 million foreign tourists last year and with Lonely Planet magazine endorsing it as 2019’s top destination, the government was hoping to draw in more than 03 million this year. It now hopes to get around 02 million tourists, said Johanne Jayaratne, chairman of the SLTDA. Airlines cancelled 41 weekly flights after the attacks and while carriers like Emirates have resumed their schedule, China Eastern, for instance, is still operating only 04 flights a week - half of what it used to.
GW Ramyasiri, a 57-year-old fisherman who poses for tourists while propped up on a pole in Koggala Lake near Galle, says the government is not providing enough help. He says he used to make up to $20 in tips from tourists every day before the attacks, now he barely makes a dollar. He said he has sold the family gold and may not be able to send his younger daughter to university. “We need money, not loans. If tourists don’t come back, how will I repay the loan?” asked Ramyasiri. “They have actually bombed us and our livelihoods.” ($ 01 = 175.4500 Sri Lankan rupees).
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SLTPB doubles tour operator incentive to boost tourist arrivals
A local vendor tries to sell handmade items to tourists at Dutch Fort in Galle
The SLTPB is rolling out an initiative to double the incentive provided for inbound tour operators to $ 10 per traveller, in a bid to encourage them to increase tourist traffic and promote the destination following the Easter Sunday setback. The bureau will provide $ 10 per tourist the tour operators bring into the country, which will be funded by the 2019 Budget approved for the SLTPB. Previously, only $ 05 per tourist was paid.
“We will soon call expression of interest (EOIs) for our inbound tour operators programme,” SLTPB Chairman Kishu Gomes said. He said the programme was active in the past, but was discontinued and was being reactivated due to requests from tour agents especially aftermath of Easter Sunday terror attacks.“Given the circumstances we have now doubled the incentive from $ 05 to $ 10 per tourist the operators bring into the country,” Gomes added. He said Rs 250 million had been allocated for this programme and depending on the feedback they receive from tour agents, they had the capacity to even further expand the investment allocated in line with industry demands.
Shedding more light on the selection process for this programme, the SLTPB chief also said the applications would be scrutinised in line with a criteria set by a working committee which comprised both promotion agency officials and industry veterans. Tour operators who bring over 1,000 tourists to the country annually are eligible for the programme. A tourist is estimated to spend around $ 2,000 in Sri Lanka per stay, according to official statistics.
He noted that tourist arrivals on average had picked up significantly over the past few months. “From an average of 945 tourist arrivals per day in May, which is the lowest this year, it has now increased to 3,700 per day. This is a remarkable improvement given it’s also our lean period,” Gomes pointed out. Considering the safety measures taken by the government and tourism authorities, Sri Lanka Tourism officials recently expressed confidence about welcoming around 2.1 to 2.3 million tourists by the end of the year.
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Anil Perera
Managing Director
SunRay Hotel & Chefs Training Academy
No.09 Sudarshana Mawatha,
Gampaha
Tel: 0332248776, 0718503005, 0773084576
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