Bad news on tourism front

The week that has passed brought bad news to the domestic tourism industry that has demonstrated some favorable arrival numbers this year despite the visa fiasco that marked the tail end of the previous regime. With the winter season approaching, hoteliers and the many others active in this industry, vital in terms of both employment and foreign exchange earnings, were looking forward to a boom in arrivals to shake off the ill effects of Covid, the Easter Sunday attacks, aragalaya and more. Now the country has been hit with the news that Israelis, visiting Arugam Bay in reckonable numbers for surfing holidays, have been threatened by some impending violence. Thankfully nothing has happened and confidence building security measures are very visible not only in Arugam Bay, but also in other popular resort areas like Ella and Mirissa.

Minister Vijitha Herath, holding the portfolio of Public Security among many more, told a Colombo news briefing on Thursday that although intelligence of possible violence had been received from early October, the authorities had for good reason not gone public on this. Most would regard as sensible not creating unnecessary panic by premature disclosure. There had been several meetings of the National Security Council that had considered this matter in depth and the president himself was overseeing the tight security measures already enforced. Beginning with the U.S., which on Wednesday issued a travel advisory to its citizen to keep away from Arugam Bay, several other countries including the UK, Israel, Australia and Russia issued similar warnings. Thus local authorities were compelled to break their silence.

Sri Lanka is particularly vulnerable to such cautionary notices following the Easter Sunday attacks in 2019 when at least 280 people including 45 foreigners were killed and many more wounded.

Given that the Colombo government was in possession of reliable intelligence of impending attacks when the Easter massacre occurred, with Catholic churches and luxury hotels targeted, glaring security failures holding no less than the then president and a host of top security and police officials been found culpable are in the public domain.

Given this backdrop, prospective travelers to Sri Lanka will undoubtedly take cognizance of such warnings however far-fetched and from wherever they emanate. That is, no doubt bad news for the domestic tourist industry and many local players have spoken out in dismay. For that we can blame nobody but ourselves. Following the Easter disaster, the tragedy has been very much a political football with accusing fingers pointed in all directions. The result of this has been continuing media focus, not only here but also in tourist generating markets, about our security failures.

The Cardinal and the Catholic Church have been outspoken in their criticism of the government’s lack of action on the findings of a Presidential Commission of Inquiry that investigated the matter and the secrecy with which its report was originally treated. A politician claiming ‘nationalist’ credentials is now busy trying to fault the new regime over two new senior police appointments using the report of an inquiry committee headed by a retired High Court judge. Few will credit him with altruism with most regarding his antics as related to the upcoming parliamentary election where he is a candidate.

Fortunately, the season at Arugam Bay, which attracts mainly surfing enthusiasts taking advantage of the wave breaks along that coast, is more or less over. The tourist industry there having had a good season have expressed fear that the recent furor could also affect other resort areas elsewhere in the country. “Today its Arugam Bay, tomorrow it could be down South,” one player said in a recent television newscast. Foreigners on the beaches have also been interviewed and voice clips that have been telecast indicated that although they were aware of the breaking news, they had no fears. Whether recent events will drive out remaining Israeli tourist here and deter others from coming for the new season only time will tell.

Tourists come here for many reasons, not all of them leisure or holiday related. Recent reports have indicated that some Russian and Ukranian draft dodgers have chosen to pitch camp here though not at Arugam Bay. Others have become long stayers starting unapproved businesses. The attractions of Arugam Bay have been widely publicized in Israel. A fictionalized film of two Israelis holidaying there after military service when they lost a comrade making friends here with, of all people, an Iranian surfer, had proved very popular in Israel and probably brought visitors here.

We in Sri Lanka have just concluded what has proved to be the most peaceful of contemporary elections and look forward to an as peaceful parliamentary election. The lack of ‘election fever’ during the ongoing campaign has been attributed by many to the fact that the country has already decided on who they are going to vote for as demonstrated at the presidential election. The SJB’s Sajith Premadasa is projecting himself as the new prime minister. But having lost two consecutive presidential races, whether he will achieve his ambition is an open question.

The NPP/JVP is not expected to have any problem winning a simple majority. Whether it can achieve the two thirds it is aiming for is another matter. Rajan Philips analyzes the possible permutations and combinations in his regular column on this page. This country experienced the ill effects of tyrannies of absolute majorities in 1970 and 1977 as we have often stressed in this space. Whether it will expose itself once again we will know soon after the U.S. elects its next president.