Some of our readers I’m sure, will be very interested in getting to know the progress of the present government and the future plans of the Ministers. Daily Mirror Life caught up with some Ministers and asked them a few questions. Their answers will be carried in this weekly column. 

A chat with John Amaratunga, Minister of Tourism and Christian Religious Affairs 

What new steps have been taken to improve tourism in Sri Lanka? 

The most important step has been to set up an advisory committee consisting of all the leaders in the industry from the travel as well as and the hotel industry. We meet frequently and they advise us and give direction as to how we should proceed.  This is apart from the normal operation of the Ministry. 

We keep a track of the four boards that are operating under the Ministry to make sure they keepup to the objectives of which they have been created. We keep monitoring their progress and performance and see if they are keeping up with the government policies and if they have improved the numbers of tourists coming to Sri Lanka. 

We make sure that the Ministers, political heads as well as the key officials participate in all international conventions and fairs where there are discussion on developing tourism. That is an exposure I feel is very important, to get into new markets and to learn to showcase Sri Lanka. 

If one views any of the international TV stations i.e. CNN, BBC,  etc. One sees competitor countries i.e. Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia etc. advertising their product very regularly. What are you doing in terms of marketing Sri Lanka other than at the tourism fairs? 

We have addressed this issue. During the previous regime there have been certain assignment as well as marketing and advertising campaigns and monies have not been paid. As a result they don’t want to accept our advertising programmes. We are in the process of settling those debts and getting back to CNN, BBC etc., with our campaigns. Things are just falling into place and within the next three months we hope to be back on track in this regard. 

How is the tourism industry rated as a foreign exchange earning? 

Right now, we are around the 3rd place. We are targeting to be placed as the 2nd highest foreign exchange earning industry by about 2020. Then when it comes to numbers, last year we had 1.9 m tourist arrivals. This year we are targeting 2.5m. In 2020 we hope to get up to about 4m tourists visiting. But then again it depends on the world conditions. Tourism as a whole which was fast developing may not reach the same altitudes as expected because of these terrorist threats and bombing airports. Tourism is the most sensitive industry which is totally affected by manmade disasters and natural disasters. 

Cruise Tourism - this is a new concept the Tourism Promotion Bureau is planning to develop. Can you elaborate on this? 

It’s picking up. In the past not many Cruises operated on the Indian sea route. Now there are cruises coming from Middle East, going around Sri Lanka to Singapore, Hong Kong etc. touching down in Colombo, Trincomalee and Galle. Passengers disembark and sometimes stay for a couple of days or they go on day tours. We need to make sure that these tourists are not inconvenienced during this process. Berthing, immigration etc has to be swift and fast. So that’s what we are in the process of sorting out now. 

Tourism is considered a major source of foreign income and the Govt wishes to increase the future arrival figures in a near exponential manner. Assuming the country had the room count to accept this increase, what steps are you taking to increase the human resource needed? 

Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management which is a special institute under this Ministry offer several courses of specialised training for this purpose. There are branches in Polonnaruwa, Negombo, Koggala, Bandarawela and many other places. There are private institutions also doing this training. We will be supervising and standardising these private institutions to ensure proper training is carried out. Other than that, hotels sometimes recruit untrained people and train them in-house also. 

What are your plans to eradicate pollution and touts making a nuisance of themselves to the tourists on and off the beach as it is driving away the tourists and making us look like a country of beggars? 

This menace is not all over. It is only in the western part of our country.It’s only from Colombo to Galle areas. When you go the Negombo areayou don’t see this. We can’t throw them out. We have to control them. We are trying to provide stalls where they can have a livelihood to market handicrafts, food and beverages etc. 

A survey was done in Beruwala and it was highlighted that some of the tourists ask for these beach boys as they arrive at the hotel and they would go sightseeing and are more friendly with them than with the Hotel staff. So there is encouragement from some of the tourists also. 

We are trying to activate the tourist police and have police posts. When uniformed people are seen, this unruly behaviour will cease. 

These tourist police posts, are they in operation? 

This operation had died down in the recent past and we are in the process of working out arrangements with the Police as this is necessary for the development of the Tourist industry. We have already set up these posts at places like Sigiriya. 

In areas like Mirissa and Tangalle, some hotels have formulated an only for foreigners policy, what do you have to say about that? 

Yes we are aware of it and we don’t encourage it. Those are not registered places. It’s a private sector operation. We are a democratic country so it’s up to them to decide who they want to take in and who they don’t. 

Are there any plans to market different parts of Sri Lanka - the south gets a lot of attention, but the others not so much? 

We are going to identify zones which are to be developed as tourism hot spots or centres. That classification and the strategic planning for tourism in Sri Lanka is now being discussed by a cabinet sub-committee with experts in the field advising. 

Are you thinking about imposing a minimum room rate? 

There is a controversy regarding this matter. The Hoteliers Association has to come up with some decision and whether we are going to do away with the minimum room rate during the off season. At the moment there is a debate going on so one of these days we’ll announce the outcome. 

There is a Pradeshiya Saba tax on hotels in addition to other taxes. Why is that? 

The Pradeshiya Sabha’s are charging different rates in different places and it’s not fair on the hoteliers. There is no uniformity. The Hoteliers Association are coming up with a proposal which we will present to the cabinet sub-committee and get a ruling. 

What are you doing in terms of infrastructure to boost tourism? 

The road transportation has been done well by the last regime and the road network is in good shape. Connectivity by air is very important and we are trying to get the maximum number of airlines to operate in Sri Lanka and increase flight frequencies. 

What exactly does the Ministry handle in regard to Christian Affairs? 

Christian Affairs Ministry will entertain all requests by the clergy in order to upkeep and uplift their places of worship. There is a budgetary allocation so our duty is to ensure that the are given to the appropriate places of worship for them to maintain and upkeep their places of worship. Also when there are conflicts with other religious organisations we have to intervene and try to resolve the problem and ensure a peaceful co-existence. 

DID YOU KNOW? 

· He completes 50 years as a lawyer. 

· He has completed 37 years of continued service as a Member of Parliament. 

· He enjoys the administration of Sri Lankan government affairs. 

Interviewed by Niro Waidyaratne 
Photographs by Kushan Pathiraja