“RESILIENCE AND RECOVERY OF SRI LANKA TOURISM BEYOND THE IMPACTS OF COVID-19 ”
Sri Lanka is a small but beautiful country with a wealth of beauty. In the course of studying history , it is evident that many people come to Sri Lanka from ancient times for various purposes. The travel records of Fahien, Huangsang and others confirm this. It has lot of definitions about this industry. 'Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours’- The World Tourism Organization define like that. The Tourism Industry has been created due to the arrival of tourists for several decades. It has also been promoted by the government as it provides a large amount of foreign exchange to the country. There are many tourist attractions in Sri Lanka. Three are several tourist zones in Sri Lanka. South Coastal Region, Greater Colombo Area , Upcountry Zone, East Coast Region, North Central Historical Town Zone.
However, Since the end of the separatist war in May 2009 tourism in Sri Lanka has been booming and it has been ranked as one of the top tourist destinations in the world for the past few years. Although Sri Lanka suffered from a war situation, this sector did not survive. Sri Lanka’s economy was going strong as soon as the war ended. Between 2010 and 2013, there was an impressive economic growth 8% and 6% years. The post-war statistics also show that Sri Lanka’s tourism industry has made significant progress and is fast becoming a dynamic and dynamic industry. The Government of Sri Lanka has formulated a five year plan for 2011-2016 to develop the tourism industry. TDS set a number of important targets, attracting a large number of tourists. Sri Lanka has embarked on a massive project under the brand ‘ Asia Wonder’. Due to these reasons the Sri Lankan government has been able to maintain a high level of tourist arrivals. As a result, the people of Sri Lanka earn their living in various ways. It is very good thing. According to the number of SLTDA registered Accommodation Establishments as at end march 2019, was 2,403. This is good situation in tourism industry.
Sri Lanka’s recent bombardment of April 2019 has seen a significant drop in tourist arrivals. According to Tourism industry report published by Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority in 2019 , graph we can understand about tourists who came to Sri Lanka after the bomb case in Sri Lanka. Sad to say lot of Tourists fear to came Sri Lanka in this situation. However, within a few months, it was restored to its original state of normally. But by March 2020 , with the Epidemic of COVID19 , not only the tourism industry but all other industries also collapsed.
However, in this case we must research about Impacts of COVID-19 on Sri Lanka Tourism. Actually, it is sad to say. But we must face that situation. Sri Lanka is a developing country. Due to the 30 year long war and the Easter blasts of last year (2019), big and small obstacles, the industry which has been growing ever since, collapsed and has continued to grow. It is this industry that has made many people live their daily lives. Tourists, both domestic and international, come to visit the various historical and natural sites all over Sri Lanka. Unfortunately, with the arrival of the Covid-19 plague, tourism and other industries were in a state of collapse. Various countries have imposed travel restrictions to prevent the spread of the disease. Accordingly, the tourism industry stopped at once. Since the disease was an infectious disease, people had to be prevented from assembling and traveling in order to prevent the disease. As a result, many countries in the world lock down their country for a week or a month. Then no one could enter or exit the country. Covid-19 was also expanded to Sri Lanka through tourism. The first Sri Lankan infected was a tour guide.
However, Sri Lankan tourists were not allowed to travel due to curfew in Sri Lanka. News reports also revealed that the tourists were stranded in Sri Lanka due to curfew and restricted travel. Tourism is Sri Lanka’s third largest foreign exchange earner. Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals have fallen by 70.8% in March 2020, according to local data. This is confirmed by the table below.
 |
| As a Percentages of tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka Source : www.sltda.lk |
The impact of Covid-19 on the tourism industry has been so severe that nearly half a million tourism jobs in Sri Lanka have been lost. Over 450000 tourist workers lost their jobs in Sri Lanka due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic. Accordingly, 180,000 employees have lost their jobs directly and other employees have lost their jobs indirectly. As the World Tourism Organization recently noted, global tourism has been hit hardest, are millions of jobs in the most labar-intensive sector of the economy are at risk. Accordingly, Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is also vulnerable. However, the tourism industry is still very poor nowadays. Sri Lanka is in the midst of a lot of problems as the tourism industry, which is a key link in the country’s economy, has collapsed due to Covid-19.
We must identify Effective strategies and policy measures for post COVID-19 Tourism Development in Sri Lanka. The tourism industry, which lagged behind for three months due to the disease of Covid-19, should be restored. This is because tourism is a major unit of the economy of Sri Lanka. Effective strategies and policy measures should boost the tourism industry in Sri Lanka after Covid-19. In the fall of 2019, Easter’s tourist arrivals dropped by 22 percent. The Covid-19 situation , however, did little , but completely reduced the arrival of tourists. If this is to be achieved, only one country will not be effective. It requires the contribution of the whole world. If so, travel restrictions, ease of travel restrictions and so on. Doing so may not give you the opportunity to travel as freely as the epidemic is still rampant in countries like the United States. If this industry is to be restarted, then it must comply with health policies. Otherwise, the disease can spread again. Mask spraying, frequent hand washing should be ordered. At present the restrictions on arrival have been relaxed and the PCR will be inspected at the airport premises and all the arrivals will be admitted to the country. It’s a good process. Because even a day’s delay can help to save the lives of 1,000 people. Researchers have said that the vaccine has not yet been found, and that it will not be possible for two more years to eradicate it. As a result, you must act with caution. At the present time, the Sri Lankan state has rightly suppressed the corona and there should be positive news coverage through news channels and social media platforms. It is also necessary to make timely changes to existing hotel policies. That is, to provide flexible service and special privileges. Thus, it would not be a difficult task for a country like Sri Lanka to successfully rebuild its economy by reaping the benefits of tourism and reaping the benefits of a highly successful Covid suppression country.
While many have become accustomed to doing online, it is important to do the same thing in tourism. If this happens again, it will be best to get used to the online system. No industry would then be at risk. However, If we ready to all things we can restart very well in this industry. We all need to make sure that we do not spread Covid-19 again. Then we will all be able to bring the industry back to better than it had in some degree. Beautiful Sri Lanka will then shine in the World.
Refferences:
www.sltda.lk
www.researchgate.net
https://tradingeconomics.com
https://tradingeconomics.com
Tharuni Priyangika
University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka (UG)
Comments
Post a Comment