By
definition tourism is about people and their interactions with the natural,
social and cultural environments at the places they visit. Yet, people in most
instances perceive tourism to be an elitist business activity which only leaves
the crumbs of its benefits, for the communities at these destinations. While in
most instances this is far from the truth, there are others, where it is the reality.
In a
day and age, where responsibility to society is held as a desirable goal for
business, tourism could do well to benefit from such demand driven sentiment.
The new consumer demand at the mid and high-end of the spectrum now demands
that destinations and tourism business operators be even more socially aware
and environmentally responsible than before. Issues such as ‘travel guilt’
arising from sensitivity to causes of global warming, seeking direct benefits
to communities from the tourist spend and exploring interactive experiences
with real people in real situations are becoming more and more important to
customers demanding tourism services today.
Some
destinations and businesses are seemingly addressing this issue with a
segmented approach. They have a mainstream or mass tourism which caters to the
low-end demand while also presenting activities with labels such as ecotourism
and community-based tourism. There are others who present the entire
destination as one that is based on principles of responsible tourism. Examples
of the first approach will be Thailand Malaysia Indonesia India Costa
Rica Scotland
In my
opinion, we in Sri Lanka
One
such opportunity for establishing entirely new business models is presented in
the area of tourist accommodation facilities development. Today, when we
consider mainstream tourist accommodation we tend to look at constructing hotel
or resort complexes with all facilities contained within that complex. Such
hotel or resort complexes need to have centralised power, water-supply,
sewerage and waste disposal facilities and adequate numbers of hired wage
workers to provide required services. These are expensive investments, with largely
negative environmental impacts and are also difficult to sustain during demand
down-turns.
Instead,
if we were to establish tourist accommodation as an expand on the concept of
rooms in homes or smaller accommodation units, concentrated in destination
areas where an effective demand for that area can be created based on the
natural and/or cultural resources available there. The rooms-in-homes will not
necessarily have to be inside people’s homes, but additions built close to them.
An example exists now of such facilities in Goyambokka/Madilla area near
Tangalle. The Ubud area in Bali will also
provide a similar example from overseas. Kalkudah on the East coast, in my mind,
could be a suitable area to set such a model into action to test its viability.
The idea further extended will provide opportunities for the formation of new
‘Area Accommodation Management Companies’, which can step in to provide managerial
expertise and training to ensure quality assurance, marketing and selling the
area and its facilities, where community operators could hire its services.
The
advantages of such a business model will be its potential to use renewable
sources of energy, i.e. solar, bio-gas and wind; operation of units managed by
members of the community providing them direct stakeholder benefit, not become burdensome
during periods of demand down-turn, have least impact on the scenic environment
of the area, meet and satisfy customer aspirations and assist to position Sri
Lanka as an unique tourism destination that can stand tall in the global market
place.
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