Sarath Wijesinghe President’s Counsel (LLM International Law (UCL))

-National Security, Foreign Relations and the Financial Crisis as Factors on Promoting Tourism

‘Sigiriya’, the glamorous Rock Fortress as displayed in the photograph above, is situated in the Central Province of Sri Lanka amid a thick forest, with a known history dating back to 477 AD – 495 AD. As a UNESCO listed ancient monument out of 250 known archaeological sites visited by over a million visitors to date, Sigiriya has become a Sri Lankan hallmark in promoting tourism. This is attributed, amongst other things, to the historical and archaeological significance of the ancient fortress city recorded in the chronical ‘Chulawamsa’ which narrates the history of Sri Lanka, beginning from the fourth century to 1815. The Rock Fortress is also renowned for the cultural and historical importance of the story behind the intrigue between the royal princes of Lanka, ‘Moggallana’ and ‘Kashyapa’ for the throne. It is said that when ‘Kashyapa’ killed his father King ‘Dhathusena’ in order to usurp the throne with the aid of ‘Migara’, who was the king’s nephew and army commander, his sibling ‘Moggallana’, who was the rightful heir of the deceased king, fled to India to gather an army and later marched against King ‘Kashyapa’. Kashyapa painstakingly built the natural rock fortress out of concern for his security, and the beauty of the location and the panoramic surroundings made it a stunning as well as scientific achievement, with its now world famous ‘Sigiri’ frescoes embroidering its walls, still standing proud despite the passing of centuries since their creation, available to be viewed by millions. Of particular architectural significance is the ‘Lion Rock’ gateway, known colloquially as ‘Sinhagiri’ from whence the name ‘Sigiriya’ was derived, which is a favourite tourist attraction alongside many other natural and archaeological sites available in abundance within the island nation which are unfortunately, not adequately utilised for the promotion of tourism as is done in other tourist nations to great effect. Tourism in Sri Lanka hit rock bottom after the ‘Covid-19’ fiasco, followed by a terrorism fuelled bomb disaster as well as the ‘Aragalaya’ conducted by troubled citizens and external sponsorship, which were all severe and tragic blows difficult, if not impossible, for the tourist industry to withstand, eventually bringing down tourist arrivals to nigh zero. Fortunately, the Sri Lankan nation is in the midst of recovery, with tourist arrivals steadily increasing due to the inherent natural beauty of the tropical island as well as the friendly nature of its people to a reasonably degree, as observed in current trends. However, the unprecedented plummet to the rock-bottom of the tourist industry indicates how important and interconnected the national security and international relations are to the tourist industry as a whole.

Sri Lanka has been chosen in recent times as the best travel destination on the globe for tourism chosen by ‘’Lonely Planet’ ’and while it may take some time to regain the lost glory, the answer to the main topic is indeed a possibility, if and when work begins aiming at a target with determination, dedication and opportunities granted to the able, willing and qualified of whom there is no lack in Sri Lanka.  Sri Lanka has intrinsic natural conditions, resources, climate and an amicable environment to well be considered one of the best tourist destinations if the available resources are managed appropriately and novel professional, innovative and scientific methods pertaining to the promotion of tourism are applied. The tourist arrivals in 2017 have amounted to 508,300,000,000 in number which declined to 720,000 in 2020, a steep downward curve of 70.8%.  This amounted to a terrible blow to Sri Lanka as a whole, which deeply depended upon foreign exchange for development and purchase of essential items from other countries. Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), is the apex body of managing and regulating tourism in Sri Lanka under the Cabinet Minister of Tourism, a powerful Ministry set up with the highest expectations in promoting, developing, monitoring and regulating the tourism industry. As the main source of the state income of a country dependent on tourism for progress, the success of the tourism industry now hinges upon the far sighted strategies with a professional basis, of a Minister in charge who must be dedicated, educated and a professional on the job/subject with a team of learned expert advisers on the field. The current figures are rather encouraging at 125,495 arrivals in the month of March 2023, for the grand target of reaching 5 million, considering the dismal statistics which have persisted since 2020. The responsibility of the SLTDA is enormous and wide-ranging, to regulate, supervise, strategise, innovate, and guide the public/private sector as well as the Minister in the proper manner on tourism promotion. In addition, aspirations, commitment, dedication, research and intelligent decision-making are other integral requirements necessary to achieve the set goals. Considering the inherent resources and the available human capacity, what is lacking is proper leadership with a strong commitment and comprehensive understanding. Tourism is a main lifeline of the Sri Lankan economy and must be appreciated as such, by means of dedicated promotion and provision of opportunities to learned and dedicated experts on the subject.

Tourist Arrivals

Tourists have arrived in Sri Lanka, known to the world by a variety of different names over the course of its vibrant history, such as Serendib, Taprobana, Helabima, Ceylon etc. due to its beauty, treasures, culture, religion, and historical significance amongst many other virtues from time immoral. ‘Fa-Hien’, a Chinese Buddhist monk in 410 AD visited with a group and lived for short periods as a tourist and a researcher and scholar of Buddhism. His memoirs are impactful as well as historical, utilised and hailed by historians the world over. ‘Marco Polo’, the Italian traveller in 12 AD has left significant memoirs pertaining to the country as well in addition to a number of other frequent visitors. As Sri Lanka is an island located on a famous and salient sea route in addition to its beauty and resources, the visitors have been frequent and plentiful. In the recent past and to date, the main tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka have mainly been from the United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, China, France, Australia, USA, Ukraine and the European Union, while many others consider it a curious new destination due to both good as well as adverse publicity engendered by the country’s contemporary history, including the wars, destruction, military victories, the tragically infamous tsunami of 2004, and even the bombings of 2019 which spawned bad publicity, yet publicity nonetheless, to the beautiful island. 2018 was a peak period in the recent past for tourism with 2.5 million tourist arrivals and an income of 5.61 billion, a significant figure never regained to date. The decline continued continuously, albeit with some solace accorded due to inbound tourism gradually increasing, giving hope to the country struggling with economic downturn and a persisting financial crisis amid rapidly rising inflation. There was a fuel and energy crisis that crippled the tourism industry merely a year ago, and the day to day life of citizens continuously deteriorated. Despite the large number of employees engaged in tourist trade in many different fields, the 700,000 tourist arrival in 2022 did not make a marked difference to the economic system of the country, which had spiralled out of control at the time. Domestic tourism is well-known as well, and Sri Lanka today has an excellent network of roads throughout the country with a dedicated private hiring network for tours. Inbound and outbound tourism is also a factor to be careful about with the need for available airports to be kept in good conditions. Travel can be of different kinds, especially regarding leisure, education and exploration to all members of and visitors to the country. These are a few ingredients a tourist needs the host country to possess, which we must be careful about. Domestic tourism is growing with steady increase of tourists from neighbouring countries as well, such as India, China and the SAARC region.

Recent Tourist Arrivals

Tourist arrivals are steadily improving from the recent downfall caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the fuel crisis, political instability, the ’Aragalaya’, strikes, student actions, high inflation, the Easter attacks, the war in Ukraine. These are well known drawbacks which brought the tourism industry to its knees, which is now recovering steadily, with a total of 719,978 visitors in the year 2022, and 91,961 in December 2022 alone, which is encouraging even compared to 238,924 in 2013, as the numbers amounted to a mere 195,000 in 2021. As a result, the hope for the political stability and regaining the trust of the international community is no longer a pipedream. There is an uphill burden on the country and the citizens to assist in maintaining law and order, which is affected by an increase in crime rates, drug addiction and social corruption, which affects the tourism industry by giving tourists and promoters a sense of insecurity compared to the competitors of Sri Lanka, such as Thailand, the Philippines, India, Nepal, Malaysia, Singapore and other island states which maintain high standards and security systems in place.

Road Network and Travel, Tourist Police and Trained, Able Tourist Guides

Travel is a part and parcel of tourism in the country for the visiting tourists who must move about in search of places of interest. This is one of the main needs of a tourist. In a tourist destination, an efficient public transport system as well as private travelling methods must be nurtured and improved for tourists to move about freely per their needs and financial strength as the case may be. In addition to the hotel taxi service, they must be given facilities for well-known local and international modes of conveyance such as ‘Uber’, ‘Pick Me’ and similar means of travel that the tourists are familiar with. Relatively, the road network and private transport system for tourists and tourism has been developed. Places of interests and worship are improving as well, such as upgrading the standard of the Temple of the Tooth to beyond the ‘Taj-Mahal’ of India per UNESCO standards. There is a gross lack of night life on the city suburbs that the authorities must look into. Competent, qualified and honest guide services and tourist police in and around tourist attraction areas is a matter to be looked into as well, in order for Sri Lanka to reach the target of the best travel destination in the world.

Tourist Attractions in Sri Lanka

Tourist attractions in Sri Lanka are in abundance to suit all kinds of tourists/visitors and their interests of which the products are not properly and professionally presented. The best example is ’Sigiriya’ (depictive above) which is heavily used by Sri Lanka to promote the country and tourism. Constructed in 4.95AD, it is of great archaeological significance today, protected by UNESCO and attracting millions of visitors from all over the world as a leading historical monument in Sri Lanka. A comparison can be drawn to similar sites such as historically significant fortresses in the UK that are well-managed and presented to tourists professionally with easy access, sanitary facilities, proper guidance, protection and precautions to the site and visitors. These are exemplary albeit expensive, and it is time that Sri Lankan heritage sites follow suit. Sri Lanka is a ‘’compact paradise of tourism’’ with things and places to see all over the country and around it, including the beautiful shallow sea surrounding the island with major and minor harbours, with resplendent sights of fishing, spots for whale watching, boat trips, and over 250,000 archaeological sites, which is a rare situation and quite unique as well, much like in Israel, full of similar sites on religious and archaeological significance. In Sri Lanka, the end products and presentation of the sites require novel, modest and innovative models without disturbing the sanctity of historical values, which is a complex and difficult task that must be carried out nonetheless.

‘Jaffna’ contains many of the attractions at the northern tip of Sri Lanka close to India, which is predominantly occupied by Jaffna Tamils who are a productive, hardworking and religious traditional group of citizens leading a hard life. Much like in Israel, many of them educate their children in the culture of fishing in the shallow seas at the tip of the peninsula. ’Batticaloa’ is another spot close to Jaffna, bordering the sea and predominantly occupied by Batticaloa Tamil folk in a more fertile area with ample land for agriculture. Both Jaffna and Batticaloa are full of agricultural sites including the Jaffna Fort and ancient Hindu temples and famous Churches in Batticaloa. 250,000 agricultural sites in one small Island approved by UNESCO can be considered rare on any yardstick, and it is a thing of beauty that they are spread island-wide based on history, religious and other monuments despite a constant influx of foreign invasions and treasure hunters throughout history, as well as theft by various colonial powers. Many Sri Lankan treasures are exhibits in major museums in the UK, USA, Netherlands, Portugal and many other countries as well as the troves of private collectors around the world. Unfortunately, the impact of the archaeological sites and monuments on tourism is currently inadequate due to the absence of tourist-based promotions. Even the sight of the sunset over the ocean horizons around the entire island is a sight to behold, and is a testament to the natural appeal our nation holds to international tourists.

Only a Fraction of the Whole Could Be Discussed Today

We have only discussed a mere fraction of the potential for tourism in Sri Lanka due to lack of space to cover more areas, yet it is timely to discuss a few other countries in the region flourishing on tourism with less facilities than are available to us. For instance, Singapore and Hong Kong are small patches on the map, vigorous in trade, business and tourism by using modern advertising techniques to compensate for what they lack. Singapore and Hong Kong are both tiny nations with barren land which they attempt to convert to greenery, of which there is a natural lack, such as by constructing intricate artificial gardens wherever possible, in order to make their countries appear green and ecological to the visitor. India is a massive area full of tourist attractions and a multitude of types of historical sites, which makes many attempts to attract visitors who may be satisfied via a myriad of interests available to be explored. China is another tourist destination attracting millions as a leading tourism giant. Indian and Chinese tourists tend to flock to Sri Lanka in large numbers when Sri Lanka makes all possible endeavours to accommodate their needs and interests as sustainable tourists, both of whom are close to home and affordable tourists. Thailand is a Buddhist country famous for religious tourism and its modern outlook, a leader on tourism in the region, as is Vietnam, battered by war and yet it emerged as a very popular tourist destination. These are some countries with many similarities to the Sri Lankan circumstances and yet are doing better than us due to better modern approaches adopted to keep pace with the ever-changing world unlike Sri Lanka, which is still lagging behind.

IS IT A REALITY TO BECOME THE BEST TOURIST DESTINATION ON THE GLOBE?

Sri Lanka has the potential, resources, and tourist attractions in abundance in this compact beautiful island resting on a famous and integral sea trade-route as well as aerial route. It is well-paced in the Indian Ocean, with a well-spoken educated population, world famous for hospitality in entertaining visitors, always full of smiles. Many countries have become tourist havens with lesser resources and natural beauty than Sri Lanka. Dubai, a sandy land with no water, resources, or any conventional types of beauty, emerged as a top tourist destination by making use of their sand, geography and newfound oil money. Israel is partly a desert, at eternal war with its neighbours, and yet another famous tourist destination, achieved by utilising the Dead Sea, archaeological monuments, and their innovations in technology and agriculture as tourist attractions. Nepal uses the iconic ‘Himalayas’ as a front runner in promoting their land, and even Maldives – the shallow sea that envelops them has been modernised with innovative creations, such as the building of expensive hotels within the sea itself to cater to high level lucrative tourism. Sri Lanka has everything under the sun to attract tourists in this small, amazing island with all the resources it has naturally been blessed with, such as water and sunlight in abundance throughout the year. These small examples of success demonstrate that what is needed for Sri Lanka to reach the target to become the best destination in the world are hard work, dedication, commitment, and to be modern and innovative in facing the challenges it is beset with, which we are currently lacking. If they are to be acquired, there will be nothing standing between Sri Lanka and a prosperous and vibrant future that future generations of Sri Lankans can be proud to be a part of.

(Sarath Wijesinghe could be reached on (sarath7@hptmail.co.uk/ sarathdw28@gmail.com and 0094777880166)

(Sarath Wijesinghe President’s Counsel (LLM International Law (UCL)), former Ambassador to UAE and Israel, President Ambassador’s Forum, Former Chairman of the Consumer Affairs Authority, Solicitor England and Wales and former Secretary General Bar Association of Sri Lanka (LLM (UCL), assisted by Suchithra Withanage (LLM (UK) (LLM (UK|Reading) LLB (Hons) (UK))