By Uwin Lugoda
For several years, the Sri Lankan tourism industry has been plagued by rumours of discrimination against local tourists. Complaints had been flooding in from many of the country’s coastal regions, where locals had been refused services from establishments such as restaurants and hotels.
However, this “foreigners only” policy soon disappeared following the tragic events of Easter Sunday, which saw a drastic decrease in the inflow of foreign tourists by around 70% and had establishments depend on local tourists. However, now that the foreign tourist arrivals are gradually returning to its anticipated numbers, so are the discriminatory practices against local tourists.
Due to the rise of the latter, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) recently issued a statement warning licensed establishments against the use of policies such as “foreigners only”.
According to SLTDA Chairperson Kimarli Fernando, this move came after several local tourists complained about several establishments that did not serve them due to this discriminatory policy.
“Several complaints have been made by domestic tourists stating that they are not allowed to enter certain restaurants and hotels in the areas of Hikkaduwa and Arugambay, where these establishments seem to have a ‘foreigners only’ policy,” she said.
Fernando stated that if an establishment is found guilty of such practices, it will result in the establishment’s license being either suspended or cancelled, and the SLTDA will take further steps to issue fresh licenses in such areas to establishments that will serve Sri Lankans as well as foreign guests alike.
“Our Constitution affords equal right to all citizens, where no person shall, on the grounds of race, religion, language, caste, sex, or any such grounds, be subjected to any disability, liability, restriction, or condition concerning access to shops, public restaurants, hotels, places of public entertainment, and places of worship,” the announcement noted.
Following this announcement, The Sunday Morning Business spoke to several establishments in areas such as Hikkaduwa, Unawatuna, and Mirissa to hear their response to this announcement.
Several establishments in Unawatuna applauded SLTDA’s effort to control such discriminations against local tourists. However, they stated that most of the places that do practise these policies do not have a license to begin with.
One owner explained that the real issue stems from the fact that a lot of local tourists do not know how to decently behave in front of foreigners, which, as a result, tend to be a nuisance to the other foreign guests.
“We see locals come and get intoxicated, have loud conversations by the pool, and disturb our foreign guests. So we can understand why some establishments choose to avoid local tourists altogether,” he said.
He went on to explain that to truly solve this issue, local tourists need to learn how to behave in a civilised manner in front of foreign visitors, and that establishments should be taught to handle situations such as intoxicated guests.
A manager of another establishment in Unawatuna stated that while it was an issue in the past, the recent rise in booking sites such as Booking.com and TripAdvisor has greatly reduced the discrimination faced by local tourists, the reason being that local tourists cannot be filtered out or blocked on the digital space.
He stated that another reason for initially having such a “foreigners only” policy was to keep the beach boys out, as they tend enter the establishments’ premises and disturb many of the foreigners in the hotel.
The hotel owners and managers from Unawatuna stated that the issue has got a lot better in the region.
However, it is still very prevalent in Mirissa as most of the establishments are unlicensed.
The manager of a hotel in Mirissa attested to this and stated that the presence of beach boys and the lack of authorities in these areas have seen hotel and restaurant owners take matters into their own hands to help give foreign tourists a better experience.
This could be seen as a recurring theme, as the manager of a restaurant in Hikkaduwa named beach boys as one of the biggest reasons behind such discriminatory practices. However, he stated that it was unfair to be discriminatory towards all local tourists as they provide revenue to the establishment during the off season.
“We know some locals misbehave, but we think it’s not fair to discriminate against everyone. Therefore, we support the decision to involve a penalty against those who carry out such practices.”
Because of the support they get from locals during the off season, all owners and managers of these establishments agree that the discriminatory practices against locals need to have a penalty, while at the same time the SLTDA should address issues that lead up to such issues.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, local tourists who have faced such discrimination stated that this type of practice reinforces colonialism and class differences for profit.
“These establishments are visibly aimed at non-Sri Lankans, i.e. white people, specifically rich white people who treat us like a tropical gateway. We are a former colony that relies on tourism from our former colonisers, and these local owners are chasing away locals so that our country can be more easily consumed by foreigners.”
Another local tourist stated that this was unacceptable, as Sri Lankan citizens are being denied access to places in their own land areas based on the colour of their skin. She claimed that the deep entrenched state of mind within the tourism sector that somehow foreign money is better is a root cause of this issue.
“The attitude of ‘foreigners only’ establishments further ingrains putting our own culture and people out of sight in that our own kind is not seen as good enough to frequent these establishments due to a minority of ill-behaved people.”
She explained that such malpractices in the industry create inequality, in which Sri Lankan people become second-class citizens in their own country.
To get the views of foreign tourists who would appear to be the beneficiaries of these policies, we spoke to a group of Australia travellers. They stated that they would be less likely to visit such places due to discriminatory practices, as they want to help the locals and not sideline them.
The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) President Sanath Ukwatte told The Sunday Morning Business that the hotels and restaurants that practise such policies are from the informal sector and are not registered with the THASL.
He went on to state that while hotels have control over who enters their premises, no hotel has the right to discriminate against anyone.
“If a person comes intoxicated into a hotel, we can refuse to let them in. But no hotel has the right to discriminate against any guest. Putting up boards saying ‘no locals’ and discriminating against people are not allowed, and we condemn such practices,” he added.
It appears that the move to condemn these discriminatory practices has found support across the board. However, it would be prudent for the SLTDA to also address the root causes which led to these practices in the first place, if Sri Lanka is serious about becoming a welcoming tourist destination, especially to female travellers.
For several years, the Sri Lankan tourism industry has been plagued by rumours of discrimination against local tourists. Complaints had been flooding in from many of the country’s coastal regions, where locals had been refused services from establishments such as restaurants and hotels.
However, this “foreigners only” policy soon disappeared following the tragic events of Easter Sunday, which saw a drastic decrease in the inflow of foreign tourists by around 70% and had establishments depend on local tourists. However, now that the foreign tourist arrivals are gradually returning to its anticipated numbers, so are the discriminatory practices against local tourists.
Due to the rise of the latter, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) recently issued a statement warning licensed establishments against the use of policies such as “foreigners only”.
According to SLTDA Chairperson Kimarli Fernando, this move came after several local tourists complained about several establishments that did not serve them due to this discriminatory policy.
“Several complaints have been made by domestic tourists stating that they are not allowed to enter certain restaurants and hotels in the areas of Hikkaduwa and Arugambay, where these establishments seem to have a ‘foreigners only’ policy,” she said.
Fernando stated that if an establishment is found guilty of such practices, it will result in the establishment’s license being either suspended or cancelled, and the SLTDA will take further steps to issue fresh licenses in such areas to establishments that will serve Sri Lankans as well as foreign guests alike.
“Our Constitution affords equal right to all citizens, where no person shall, on the grounds of race, religion, language, caste, sex, or any such grounds, be subjected to any disability, liability, restriction, or condition concerning access to shops, public restaurants, hotels, places of public entertainment, and places of worship,” the announcement noted.
Following this announcement, The Sunday Morning Business spoke to several establishments in areas such as Hikkaduwa, Unawatuna, and Mirissa to hear their response to this announcement.
Several establishments in Unawatuna applauded SLTDA’s effort to control such discriminations against local tourists. However, they stated that most of the places that do practise these policies do not have a license to begin with.
One owner explained that the real issue stems from the fact that a lot of local tourists do not know how to decently behave in front of foreigners, which, as a result, tend to be a nuisance to the other foreign guests.
“We see locals come and get intoxicated, have loud conversations by the pool, and disturb our foreign guests. So we can understand why some establishments choose to avoid local tourists altogether,” he said.
He went on to explain that to truly solve this issue, local tourists need to learn how to behave in a civilised manner in front of foreign visitors, and that establishments should be taught to handle situations such as intoxicated guests.
A manager of another establishment in Unawatuna stated that while it was an issue in the past, the recent rise in booking sites such as Booking.com and TripAdvisor has greatly reduced the discrimination faced by local tourists, the reason being that local tourists cannot be filtered out or blocked on the digital space.
He stated that another reason for initially having such a “foreigners only” policy was to keep the beach boys out, as they tend enter the establishments’ premises and disturb many of the foreigners in the hotel.
The hotel owners and managers from Unawatuna stated that the issue has got a lot better in the region.
However, it is still very prevalent in Mirissa as most of the establishments are unlicensed.
The manager of a hotel in Mirissa attested to this and stated that the presence of beach boys and the lack of authorities in these areas have seen hotel and restaurant owners take matters into their own hands to help give foreign tourists a better experience.
This could be seen as a recurring theme, as the manager of a restaurant in Hikkaduwa named beach boys as one of the biggest reasons behind such discriminatory practices. However, he stated that it was unfair to be discriminatory towards all local tourists as they provide revenue to the establishment during the off season.
“We know some locals misbehave, but we think it’s not fair to discriminate against everyone. Therefore, we support the decision to involve a penalty against those who carry out such practices.”
Because of the support they get from locals during the off season, all owners and managers of these establishments agree that the discriminatory practices against locals need to have a penalty, while at the same time the SLTDA should address issues that lead up to such issues.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, local tourists who have faced such discrimination stated that this type of practice reinforces colonialism and class differences for profit.
“These establishments are visibly aimed at non-Sri Lankans, i.e. white people, specifically rich white people who treat us like a tropical gateway. We are a former colony that relies on tourism from our former colonisers, and these local owners are chasing away locals so that our country can be more easily consumed by foreigners.”
Another local tourist stated that this was unacceptable, as Sri Lankan citizens are being denied access to places in their own land areas based on the colour of their skin. She claimed that the deep entrenched state of mind within the tourism sector that somehow foreign money is better is a root cause of this issue.
“The attitude of ‘foreigners only’ establishments further ingrains putting our own culture and people out of sight in that our own kind is not seen as good enough to frequent these establishments due to a minority of ill-behaved people.”
She explained that such malpractices in the industry create inequality, in which Sri Lankan people become second-class citizens in their own country.
To get the views of foreign tourists who would appear to be the beneficiaries of these policies, we spoke to a group of Australia travellers. They stated that they would be less likely to visit such places due to discriminatory practices, as they want to help the locals and not sideline them.
The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) President Sanath Ukwatte told The Sunday Morning Business that the hotels and restaurants that practise such policies are from the informal sector and are not registered with the THASL.
He went on to state that while hotels have control over who enters their premises, no hotel has the right to discriminate against anyone.
“If a person comes intoxicated into a hotel, we can refuse to let them in. But no hotel has the right to discriminate against any guest. Putting up boards saying ‘no locals’ and discriminating against people are not allowed, and we condemn such practices,” he added.
It appears that the move to condemn these discriminatory practices has found support across the board. However, it would be prudent for the SLTDA to also address the root causes which led to these practices in the first place, if Sri Lanka is serious about becoming a welcoming tourist destination, especially to female travellers.