by Sanath Nanayakkare

Major hoteliers and leading tour operators in the country yesterday urged the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) to take their views on board before the tabling of the news Bill on Tourism in Parliament.

The Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) and the Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) expressed their displeasure at the ‘undue haste’ on the part of the SLTDA to bring in a new Tourism Act.

The two organisations jointly made these remarks at a press briefing held in Colombo. Referring to a controversial aspect of the new draft bill on Tourism they said,”A change of law could give immense and excessive powers to the Regulator (SLTDA) and other state officials on many matters including acquisitions of land with clear protection for them with immunity against prosecution.

“The change in the Act will not result in a single dollar coming into the country, but it will grant the Regulator unbridled powers over a large quantum of funds available at present on the Boards,” they pointed out.

“The Secretary of Sri Lanka Tourism originally misled the industry by claiming that law reforms were included in the government’s ‘Vistas of Prosperity’ manifesto, but we found out that nothing of the sort was contained in that manifesto.”

When asked if they had conveyed their concerns about the draft bill on Tourism to Minister of Tourism Prasanna Ranatunga, they said: “Yes, then the minister requested a proposal from the private sector for reforms, which we gave in a matter of days. We were promised that our proposals would be included in a revised draft bill. However, the draft bill which is publicised on social media and WhatsApp does not include any of the reforms proposed by us in its entirety. In fact, we submitted those proposals in response to a formal request made by the Secretary of Tourism. But we haven’t heard anything from them so far.

“There are many pressing issues at the moment, and we think that hasty amendments to the Tourism Act are going to be made because the regulator and directors of the Tourism Authority find themselves involved in numerous legal cases. We observe that certain clauses in the new draft bill will clearly provide immunity to the said parties embroiled in these issues.

“The fact Sri Lanka Tourism has four separate boards is given as a reason for Sri Lanka Tourism not successfully positioning Sri Lanka in the global market over the years. It is only Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau (SLTPB) that has a mandate to position the country in the global market. There is no need for other Boards such as SLITHM or SLTDA to accomplish that task.

“There is one chairperson heading all four boards and to carry out an effective strategic plan for each of these should not be an issue as it is done in many private sector organisations. Further, the present Tourism Act provides for the Director General of SLTDA to serve on all four boards which was done purely for the purpose of keeping the connectivity between the 4 bodies. If they say that the present system is not effective and is counterproductive, then it is not the fault of the system but the implementation/incompetency of appointed officials.

” There are ridiculous proposals in the bill effective to making guides and drivers stakeholders in the industry. This does not make any sense. If so, tea pluckers in the tea industry, sewing ladies in the apparel industry, pilots, stewardesses and aircraft engineers also should sit on their company boards. This doesn’t happen anywhere in the corporate world.

“When drafting a new bill, it is best a consultative process be adopted as the designers may not be well aware on the model in which the Tourism industry in Sri Lanka operates.

“SLTDA says that it can’t run an industry where three million people are dependent with the support of only 3 – 4 Associations. If 21 million people are represented by 225 members in parliament, then there is no reason why 3 to 4 associations driving 80% of foreign exchange through Tourism to the country should not have a majority on the boards.

“Sri Lanka Tourism must run with transparency as the investors contribute as per 2018 figures approximately Rs. 1.5 billion rupees for Tourism Development and Promotions to SLTDA annually.”

“Maybe the number is few. But the 3 to 4 associations that drive 80% of foreign exchange through Tourism to the country should have a majority on the boards. SLTDA should not act to dilute the decision making power of the major investors and hand over the reins to multiple stakeholders who have done so little to build this industry. We ask them revisit the draft bill, take our views on board and make necessary amendments before it goes to parliament. Boards must be headed by national level players and not by provincial level stakeholders. This is not a time for infighting over unwanted issues. Let’s all of us collaborate and revive tourism for the benefit of all citizen of this country by boosting our forex reserves. Let sanity prevail.”

In answer to a question from the media, the members of SLAITO and THASL said that they would like to see heads roll in SLTDA.