brand logo

The paradigm shift needed in treating tourists 

02 Mar 2022

It was reported recently that Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga had instructed Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chandana D. Wickramaratne to take stern action against Sri Lankans who harass and exploit tourists.  This announcement comes in a context where a number of such incidents were reported during the past few months and went viral on social media platforms. Tourists being harassed and exploited by locals is not a new issue, and Sri Lanka has seen plenty of discussions, plans, and programmes aimed at making Sri Lanka a tourist-friendly country. However, tourists continuing to face harassment and exploitation in every part of the country, and at the hands of various persons and businesses, constitutes a serious situation and raises questions as to the success of the said previous attempts. One of the most common situations in which harassment and exploitations against tourists take place is during taxi rides, especially three-wheelers that charge exorbitant fares from tourists. In fact, one simple but extremely effective step to address it would be expediting the implementation of and expanding to the tourist areas, the Government’s plan to make meters mandatory for taxis, which was first announced years ago, but has not been put into action thus far. The last time it was discussed at the national level was in January of this year, and a temporary plan was announced to start this initiative from the Western Province and to then expand to other areas step by step. However, plenty of meter-less taxis can be seen in the Western Province (with the Government postponing the plan as the cost for installing meters is prohibitive for three-wheeler drivers during the pandemic and economic crisis situation), and how well it has been implemented in other areas – such as the Southern Province where a large number of tourists frequent and almost all three-wheelers do not use a meter in a bid to charge as much money as possible from tourists – is a question. At the same time, making Sri Lanka a comfortable place for tourists is not something that can be achieved through laws, regulations, and policies. In fact, tourists are unlikely to seek the law enforcement authorities’ assistance unless in the event of a serious incident, and the Police do not have resources to be available at every tourist attraction and catch people who harass and exploit tourists. The police force also needs to be proactive as much as possible. Therefore, the most effective solution, although the most difficult one to implement, should come from the people. Educating those providing goods or services to tourists to be fair, is a need of the hour. They should be sensitised to the fact that merely because a foreign tourist does not find it difficult to pay Rs. 1,000 for a Rs. 500-worth good or service, it is not right to overcharge them. The need for such attitudinal changes was shown by comments on certain recent social media posts that went viral, where one video showed a tourist being charged Rs. 250 for an egg roti that costs between Rs. 60-80, and another video showed a three-wheeler driver demanding Rs. 4,800 for a hire that was worth less than Rs. 1,000. The comments section was divided into those who support such acts and those who opposed them, and the worst part is, those who supported overcharging tourists seem to believe that getting as much money as possible is the only important thing about tourism. However, it is not just the general public that overcharges tourists. The Government also does that, and the best example is tourist attractions such as Sigiriya, where foreign tourists are required to pay several times the amount paid by local tourists. In fact, such practices are sometimes used as a justification by those supporting overcharging tourists. How much of a right a government or an authority has to ask people not to overcharge tourists when they are doing the same openly and officially is also a matter that needs to be discussed, especially when most other countries rarely do that. The authorities’ eagerness to make the country a tourist-friendly place, especially when tourism is one of the key foreign revenue earners, is appreciable. However, it should not put a stop to taking legal action against a few persons based on complaints. More legal and policy-level actions and attitudinal changes are necessary to deal with locals harassing and exploiting tourists.


More News..