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New tourism industry legislation: Proceeding amidst objections

01 Jan 2022

  • Final draft to be presented to Cabinet by 30 April
  • Industry leaders question why expert recommendations were not adopted
  • Proposed high level of immunity for state officials ‘alarming’,  says Kariyawasan
By Uwin Lugoda The Government is inching closer to its new Tourism Act amidst protest from the industry stakeholders, with it set to be presented to the Cabinet before May 2022. Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga stated that the Ministry has already handed over their ideas for the act to Legal Draftsman (LD), and is awaiting a response from the industry stakeholders.  He explained that once finalised, the Ministry plans to present a final draft to the Cabinet on or before 30 April 2022. He stated that this new Act will move forward with its initial plan of being formulated by taking the views of all the tourism industry stakeholders. “We are doing this alongside the industry, and we have already handed over a copy of the current draft to the stakeholders. In return, the industry has requested a month to review the draft and come up with suggestions to be included in the final draft. So, we are currently waiting on their feedback before moving forward,” said Ranatunga. However, last week The Sunday Morning reported that five leading organisations in the tourism industry had sent the Minister a letter stating their displeasure at the move by the Government and questioning why industry recommendations were not taken into account when drafting the new Act. When questioned about the stakeholders’ letter and concerns, Ranatunga stated that he has not yet seen the letter and therefore cannot comment on it. Tourism Ministry Secretary S. Hettiarachchi told The Sunday Morning that as per the directive received by the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), the Ministry is required to submit the Tourism Act by April next year. He explained that the last date for stakeholders to submit their comments, recommendations, and ideas for further improvement of the Act is 8 January 2022, after which the LD will draft the Act for submission. Moreover, he added that a new Act typically takes about two years to be fully implemented, as the procedure for it is much longer due to the amendments and other necessary changes. This Act was first announced in April 2021 when the Ministry stated their desire to repeal the present Tourism Act which was set up in 2005, and was responsible for the establishment of the separate independent bodies of Sri Lanka Tourist Development Authority (SLTDA), Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (SLITHM), Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), and the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB). The establishment of these bodies came upon the request of the private sector at the time, with each hosting a board of directors consisting of both private sector professionals and Government representatives. One of the major changes being brought to the table via the newly proposed Bill is the amalgamation of three of these bodies – SLTDA, SLTPB, and SLCB – into one authority; the Sri Lanka Tourism Authority. Speaking to us in April last year, Hettiarachchi stated that the proposed new Bill is based on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s “Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour” policy manifesto goals, which aim to either amend old acts or repeal them in order to address the ongoing environment and future predictions. He explained that this new bill will amalgamate the three institutions while turning SLITHM into a degree-holding institution. He stated that in 2005, a month after the current Act was enacted, a paper was presented to the Cabinet to go back to the former mechanism of having only one authority, after realising that the earlier version was better. However, he explained that this did not get approved by the then Cabinet. Hettiarachchi stated that one of the main reasons for the amalgamation was a noticeable conflict of interest between the authorities. To emphasise this, he stated that a few years ago Sri Lanka tourism wanted to promote Pasikuda as a tourist destination to international tourists; however, he went on to state that the SLTPB failed to follow through on its promotion. “We do not see a need to have three authorities for tourism in the country. When we look at SLCB, which deals with all these events, we feel that the responsibility actually falls under the SLTPB; so why have a seperate authority for that? And financially speaking, I think we can cut down on expenditure if it was just one authority,” he commented. According to Hettiarachchi, this new Bill also gives the Government an opportunity to address issues that were overlooked by the last one. He explained that the current Act does not allow for a lot of regulation and does not work towards the goal of sustainable tourism. “We have international agreements which have us working towards the common goal of sustainable tourism. We have to think about the future from 2025 to 2030, and regulate our industry to avoid things like the over visitation of certain sites.” Ranatunga echoed the belief that the new Tourism Act will increase the efficiency of all official authorities in terms of improving communication within the three different departments, reducing duplicated work, cost-saving, and also making the chain of command faster with clear directions. ‘Not the need of the hour’ When the new Act was announced in April 2021, tourism stakeholders collectively expressed their concerns over the move and deemed the new Act ill-advised and unnecessary. However, following a meeting with Ranatunga, the Minister had assured them that their ideas will be included in the new Act. Despite this, industry leaders again expressed concern over the new Act earlier in December 2021, after seeing that their ideas and concerns were not addressed in the latest draft. These stakeholders voiced their concerns further with a letter to the Tourism Ministry, expressing their displeasure at the Government’s move to proceed with amending existing legislation without taking on board comprehensive recommendations made by industry experts. The letter was sent by the five industry bodies which include The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL), Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO), Travel Agents Association of Sri Lanka (TAASL), Sri Lanka Association of Professional Conference, Exhibition, and Event Organisers (SLAPCEO), and the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises in Tourism (ASMET). “We are not in support of this change of the current Tourism Act because we feel that it is not the need of the hour; the need of the hour is to look at the promotions and bring down more tourists into the country. But the regulators of Sri Lanka Tourism have other plans and want to change the Act,” said former SLAITO President Mahen Kariyawasan, speaking to us.  He explained that the stakeholders gave a list of suggestions to be incorporated into the new Act following the meeting they had with the Tourism Minister a few months ago. However, he stated that it was disappointing to see that none of those suggestions were included in the draft provided to them. Kariyawasan stated that one point that stood out to them when reading the draft was the Government seeking to offer a high level of immunity to new board members under the proposed legislation. He opined that this was alarming, questioning whether even the country’s Prime Minister had this level of immunity.  “We have till the middle of this month to study this draft and see what its pros and cons are. But, right now all the trade bodies have got together and are protesting against this new Act. In this regard, we will hold a press conference in the coming week,” Kariyawasan said. THASL President M. Shanthikumar added to this, stating that the industry as a whole is not in agreement to repeal the existing act.  “Our comments were sent to the relevant authorities, including both the Minister and Tourism Chairperson. But none of them were included in the draft we were sent. Therefore, we have asked that time be given for us to further comment on it,” said Shanthikumar. He stated that the draft showed no private sector participation in the governing boards, despite the industry primarily being driven by the private sector. Therefore, he suggested that the Ministry look at having an adequate number of private sector representatives in the decision-making boards, which the current Act provides.

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