Skift Take
The Sri Lanka tourism chief’s resignation letter has enough cautioning signs for the nation’s tourist market. Now, if only someone is listening.
Peden Doma Bhutia
Mired in its worst-ever recession with debts amounting to over $50 billion, Sri Lanka might need to wait on a long time to draw on tourist to lessen the blow.
Kimarli Fernando, the Sri Lanka tourist chief, stepped down from her position on Tuesday following a resignation request from the newly-appointed tourism minister. But not before firing a strongly-worded resignation letter.
Fernando, who had been secured a battle with the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Trip Operators, struck out at what she calls is “a cartel of a handful of veterans.”
Amongst the many disputes that she had with the incoming association, Fernando had actually objected to Thilak Weerasinghe, the association’s president, being on the government board for over seven years. A chance, which she stated, ought to be hung on rotation basis by other associations.
The tourist industry is not limited to a couple of Colombo-based associations represented on the tourism boards, understood to dictate self-benefiting terms to political authorities, she mentioned in her letter to Harin Fernando, who was selected tourist minister on Friday.
“The cartel likewise didn’t like my attempt to account for the dollars into the country from tourism along with dollars to be directed to hotels who have foreign currency loanings,” Fernando pointed out in the letter.
Tourism has actually been Sri Lanka’s third-largest foreign exchange-earner in 2019 bringing in an approximated $3.6 billion.
< img src="https://skift.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Kimarli.jpg"alt =""width ="440"height ="440"/ > Kimarli Fernando An experienced banker with Standard Chartered Bank and Deutsche Bank and an attorney-at-law, Fernando is an alumna of the London School of Economics and Government.
Besides being the first girl in her role as the tourist chief, she is likewise the very first person to be heading Sri Lanka’s four main tourist entities– Sri Lanka Tourist Advancement Authority, Sri Lanka Tourist Promo Bureau, Sri Lanka Conventions Bureau, and Sri Lanka Institute of Tourist and Hotel Management.
Kishu Gomes, whom Fernando had actually prospered as the Sri Lanka Tourism Advancement Authority and Sri Lanka Tourism Promo Bureau chief, participated in her resignation call noting that industry stakeholders were disappointed with her.
Explaining that these associations had likewise been objecting to benefits being meted out to small and medium enterprises, Fernando pointed out in her letter that they had actually also protested the long past due shift to digital marketing.
Returning to archaic methods of marketing would hamper Sri Lanka’s competitiveness on the planet tourist market, she cautioned. “The failure to comprehend the new traveller behaviour will continue to be harmful to the industry.”
“The previous organization model in the market has mainly been to undercut on prices, offering inexpensive resulting in many businesses not being financially viable from well before the Easter attacks and the pandemic.”
In the lack of ability to market and position the location, she discussed that the tourism minister would be asked to offer totally free visas and other rewards to promote the country based on “cheapness.”
Fernando pointed out in the letter that she had accepted this function on an honorary basis for the previous 30 months and had not being drawing a salary, nor availing any of the advantages. She hoped this would be a good practice to encourage others to follow at this time of alarming need.
Striking out at the tourism minister for cancelling two meetings arranged with her for May 21 and 23, she rued that it was regrettable and unprofessional that the two never fulfilled to examine progress and guide on the best practices embraced.
“The cavalier attitude you have displayed does not bode well. I hope I am proved incorrect,” she wrote.