Out of the Box 09 - Why make tourism everybody’s business

By Renton de Alwis

An ‘Out of the Box’ weekly column written in the ‘Daily Financial Times, Sri Lanka’ , this time of year in 2010 is reposted today, for reflection of my readers on the need for us in Sri Lanka to rethink and reinvent our tourism offering.

 

Tourism in its modern form was born in the post-world war II era as a pursuit of the elite, for the elite, by the elite. That was the result of the very nature and form of tourism as we knew it then. There were not many inexpensive ways to get anywhere, especially across the oceans. It was exclusive and expensive modes such as ship or the limited numbers of airplanes that were available. To become a tourist was expensive business that only a few among even the elite, could afford. Those who traversed long distances on land, on foot or carriage, on pilgrimage or for exploring new frontiers were not tourists, but travellers.

It was the dawn of the transoceanic jet-age, advent of workers’ right to holidays with pay and emergence of a new middle class, which made tourism gain in importance as a broad-based economic activity.

This was true in looking at it from the demand side. From the supply side too, investing in early tourism infrastructure was expensive. Building hotels for accommodation of tourists that enjoyed the fruits of jet travel, providing them safe and secure facilities and services for touring, was expensive business that only a few could afford to invest in. So was gaining exposure to a conceptual understanding of its ways and operations. In the pre-internet era of tourism marketing, it was a pure relationship business that remained within the exclusive domain of those who had the resources and exposure to develop business contacts and contracts overseas.  

Today, things are different. Travel is relatively inexpensive and tourism is transformed to be a mass pursuit. It now is democratised to such an extent the profile of the tourist ranges from the rich and famous to the person on the street. As in the past, the generation of tourists for destinations is no longer exclusive to the Western hemisphere. Chinese, Indians, Mid-easterners and Far-easterners also travel in significant volumes today, and are showing signs of gradually becoming discerning tourists.

With the marketing prowess of the Internet and the other info-communication modes available inexpensively, defining our markets for attracting visitors need not anymore be limited to geographical areas alone. Today, we can reach out to the many affinity groups; e.g. nature lovers, cultural experience seekers, heritage buffs, social interactivity seekers, sun-sea-sand lovers, mind-body wellness seekers and adventure seekers without tagging their identities to where they come from or reside.

Tourism destinations and operators are in a vantage position in being able to reach out to the type of custom they prefer and target their communications specifically to those. Before they do that at the very outset, they should clearly define and determine if the destination as a whole should remain an ecologically sensitive and serendipitous environment or if designated areas of it must be allocated to large resort areas that cater to the masses of tourists with theme parks, gaming centres and other pleasure pursuits, based on the principle that “if damage is to happen, make it happen in manageable and designated areas and not all around the country”.

Policy makers, investors and tourism operators today, can and must determine the brand of tourism that suits us best. Unlike in the past, we need not depend too much on overseas tour or charter operators to generate most of our custom. Thankfully, now we are empowered to reach out to our markets and market segments selectively. While still maintaining our traditional relationships, not breaking bridges, we should be taking on strongly to marketing on the Internet. We must remember that the post-conflict era in Sri Lanka, to be different to that of the three decades of conflict, where we were a buyers-market. Today we have all it takes to transform to be a sellers-market.

In that context, resort and hotel complexes of the past can be complimented with individual home and family stay units for accommodation. New tourism management companies can be formed now, not to manage hotels and resorts only, but to support community operated units with creating and executing each visitor experience, providing appropriate training, quality assurance and setting up the promotional and financial backbone needs. With such support, attractive natural and culturally sensitive areas can become tourism destinations managed by their own communities. That stakeholder feel can ensure the conservation of resources, retention of their natural and cultural identities and the long-term sustainability of ventures.  

We could now push to carve out a new tourism future for Sri Lanka to suit the new demand and supply dynamics, to make us a destination that would ‘stand tall in the crowd’ among the best in the world.    

 

 

 

 

Lotus - Pix credit: Self