- To play it safe despite opportunity for competitive edge
With Covid-19 continuing to be an almighty threat, Sri Lanka’s tourism industry has decided to take the safe route, being guided purely by the health authorities instead of lobbying for a reopening of the airport and a resumption of the tourism sector.
Similar to Sri Lanka, other tourism-dependent countries in the region such as Thailand and Indonesia have decided to keep their borders closed for the safety of their citizens. A recent prediction from a deputy governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand claimed that the country may remain closed until 2021, while Indonesia’s Co-ordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment announced that Bali, the country’s biggest tourist destination, might be closed till the end of 2020.
Despite this, countries such as the Maldives have already opened their borders to international tourists, and the country’s immigration authorities have revealed that a total of 5,177 tourists arrived in the country between 15 July and 15 August. The decision for this opening came after the country’s health authorities permitted tourists to enter the country without mandatory quarantine, provided that they remained at the facility where initial bookings were made. Within this first month of opening its borders, they reported that the highest number of incoming tourists was from the UK, with 679 arrivals, followed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the US, which account for 647 and 525 tourists, respectively.
However, when it comes to Sri Lanka, the Chairperson of Sri Lanka Tourism, which includes the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) and Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), Kimarli Fernando, stated that the industry is prioritising the safety of the citizens and being better prepared for tourists when the country eventually does open its borders.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, Fernando explained that the decision to open the country for tourism has to come from the health authorities, and the tourism industry needs to be prepared for when they give that green light.
“We need to be careful and listen to the health authorities when it comes to opening Sri Lanka for tourism, because our primary responsibility is for the safety of our 22 million citizens, then to the Sri Lankans stranded abroad and finally, to bring back the tourists. We also need to take into account what is happening in the rest of the world, where countries that have done well are currently facing their second waves.”
She went on to state that they need to be prudent when making the decision to open up the country, but also need to be completely prepared and agile to opening with even a mere 24 hours’ notice.
Fernando stated that they have already taken steps to ensure that the industry is prepared through the all-inclusive Sri Lanka Tourism app, which is now ready and awaiting approval from the Cabinet and Immigration and Emigration Department to be linked with the online visa process.
“We have now prepared the Cabinet paper required for the app to be authorised along with the online visa procedure. It will be one of the first Cabinet papers by Sri Lanka Tourism for the new Cabinet of Ministers.”
This app is set to be developed with funding from the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) and it will be upgraded to allow tourists to have all the necessary information required to get around the island. Fernando stated that they had looked at all the top travel apps in the world and its features, and incorporated it into this new app.
The app is going to use the information taken by the tourist, and email it to health officials of the area they are travelling to. This is to help these officials stay informed about who is entering their areas and where they are staying.
“This will really help us in tracking down the movements of the travellers entering the country post Covid-19. Although no decision has been made yet on the exact date of the reopening of the airport, there were several procedures that needed to be addressed and now almost all have been sorted out.”
She also stated that they have to work with the health authorities and Airport and Aviation Services Sri Lanka (AASL) to increase the capacity of PCR testing before opening the country. Tourists will be subjected to three PCR tests, one before arrival, one on arrival, and another five to seven days after entering the country.
When the country is eventually opened, Fernando wants the local industry to focus on taking smaller steps, like bringing low numbers of tourists into the country as opposed to returning to the earlier numbers, so as to help control the disease and keep the rest of the country safe.
“At the height of Sri Lanka’s tourism in 2018, we had roughly around 190,000 tourists a month, which added up to 2.3 million tourists that year. However, I think now we should focus on getting smaller numbers, like 1,000 tourists a day. I have to first look at this issue as a Sri Lankan, and not as an industry leader. This is why I think it is important for us to go by what the health authorities tell us and just be ready when they give us the green light.”
She stated that the local industry has been very understanding and supportive of the current situation, making no demands to open the country for tourists and that even The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL), whose members have made the biggest investment in the country’s tourism, fully understand the situation and are exercising caution.
The local industry
According to THASL President Sanath Ukwatte, prematurely opening the country and letting a lot of tourists in is not the way forward for the local tourism industry. He explained that the country has currently taken a lot of action to mitigate the situation, and therefore, the sector is waiting on the health authorities’ decision to open the country.
“Countries like the Maldives have opened their country for international tourists with no control or testing, which is risky. We should not do this, we need to listen to our health authorities and allow them to make the ultimate decision.”
John Keells Holdings (JKH) Vice President and Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts Brand Marketing Head Dileep Mudadeniya shared these same sentiments, stating that other countries like Vietnam and China that opened up too early have had to close their borders again. He explained that the opening or closing of Sri Lanka should be in line with the health authorities’ recommendation, as it is not only about getting tourists into the country.
“We have to look at multiple factors such as the risk of a second wave and if we can handle it, because this is a national issue. Therefore, I think the overall country policy supersedes the tourism industry, so we need to go on the risk assessment done by the health authorities and let them guide us.”
However, Ukwatte stated that the current system is not sustainable, as over two million Sri Lankans depend on tourism for their livelihood, having had no proper income for over six months. He also stated that hotels have started borrowing money in order to pay the salaries of their employees, and many of them will not be able to do this for much longer.
Despite this, he stated that Sri Lanka currently has a definite advantage over other countries due to its success in controlling the pandemic and that this has brought the country to the top of people’s minds when thinking about travel post-Covid.
One of these advantages comes in the form of the Safe Travels stamp, which Sri Lanka recently received from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) after gaining recognition for its safety protocols introduced by the Government along with standards mandated by the SLTDA to ensure the safety of domestic and international travellers.
This stamp is set to instil confidence among tourists looking at Sri Lanka as a potential future travel destination, and will also allow them to recognise properties and businesses that diligently follow globally streamed health and hygiene protocols aligned with WTTC’s Safe Travels Protocols.
The WTTC’s Safe Travels stamp is the first of its kind specifically designed to combat the ramifications of Covid-19 and similar outbreaks. Recognised and embraced by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the stamp allows travellers to trot the globe whilst ensuring their safety.
Sri Lanka joined the ranks of other leading destinations to be stamped safe, including Indonesia, Dubai, Tanzania, Portugal, Mexican Caribbean, Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, Turkey, Bulgaria, Jamaica, Mauritius, Ontario, Saudi Arabia, Rwanda, and counting, having had its protocols validated by WTTC to be in line with those devised by the global organisation.
Sri Lanka got another leg up on other regional tourist destinations thanks to Wunderman Thompson’s “So Sri Lanka – Wild Guides” film recently winning the coveted award for “Best Viral Film” in the Brand Film Awards in London.
“Wild Guides” was a first of its kind digital PR (public relations) film experience brought to life by a British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) and Emmy Award-winning team of nature filmmakers; designed to communicate the new destination identity, “So Sri Lanka”, the film delivered unprecedented success with a combined reach of over 2.5 billion across key international markets last year.
Alongside these achievements, Fernando applauded the local industry on its innovative attitude during the initial outbreak, especially pointing out initiatives such as the quarantine hotels which ensured that some hotels had guests staying for 14 consecutive days. She suggested that the industry focus on seafarers, with strict guidelines, proper PCR testing, and demarcated hotels and areas, with no interaction with the public.
Post-Covid Sri Lanka needs to pitch its uniqueness to the world, when it comes to managing the pandemic, diversity, nature, wildlife, and other amenities, she explained, saying that this is what a post-Covid tourist will be looking for when they are planning to travel – the local industry needs to be ready for when these tourists start coming in.
“Irrespective of the airport opening, we will be ready, so that if the President reopens the country, we will be ready to go in 24 hours. We have got global recognition with the safety stamp, we have the app, we are planning on getting the cabinet approval to put the app in immigration forms, and with regards to PCR test, we are in contact with Airport and Aviation (Services), so we will be ready.”