Last month, Sri Lanka recorded the highest ever tourist numbers for January. This is amid an aggressive promotion drive and an ambitious target of hosting three million tourists by the end of 2025 – a record if achieved.
Following the multiple and overlapping crises Sri Lanka faced since the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, there are high expectations for tourism to drive the economic recovery through foreign exchange income in the short term. However, the question remains as to whether tourism destinations in Sri Lanka are ready to facilitate such an unprecedented increase in tourists in the short term?
Sri Lanka’s tourism and nature – a paradoxical relationship
The traditional Sri Lankan tourism brand is overwhelmingly reliant on its endowed natural assets. In addition, nature-based tourism models conducted in protected areas are becoming increasingly sought after by tourists, both foreign and local.
Unfortunately, this dependence on natural assets that has become Sri Lanka’s brand of tourism has had adverse impacts on the environment due to rapid, unsystematic, and unsustainable tourism development. This can be seen in places like Ella, where within a decade, tourism mushroomed at such a speed and scale that it threatened to destabilise the surrounding environment – the very same resource that attracts such large numbers of tourists. While some bright spots exist that show how to balance economic and environmental considerations, such examples are few and far between.
Nature-positive tourism: a long-term necessity
Though attempts are being made (for example, by development partners who include these considerations in their lending programs to government), by and large, the tourism sector is yet to meaningfully integrate nature at the core of the country’s tourism business model. Even if there is an increasing focus on environmental considerations in tourism, it is doubtful whether such initiatives can keep up with the fast-growing demand-side stresses from short-sighted promotional efforts that are prioritising boosting short-term gains over longevity.
Nature-positive tourism situates regenerating nature as a central goal of the business model. For example, in addition to traditional metrics of success such as profitability, fiscal health, and footfall, under nature positive tourism the business assesses its contribution to improving the soil, air, and water quality of the surrounding environment.
In tourism, profitability and protecting the environment is often seen as a zero-sum game. However, this zero-sum view only arises when the tourism business life cycle is seen through a short-term lens. When looking at the long run, a nature-positive approach is a vital step towards sustained profitability and growth given Sri Lanka’s heavy reliance on its natural assets.
The definition of luxury travel is fast evolving. As tourists now have access to a diverse range of experiences, there is a growing distinction between the different forms of luxuries sought within the tourism sector. These new forms of luxuries sought are features tied to pristine environments such as nature, silence, privacy, clean air and skies. Sri Lanka still has an abundance of these luxuries to offer.
However, unlike material forms of luxury, this new brand of luxury is a much harder resource to nurture when damaged or lost. Capitalising on these factors is vital for the long-term thriving of the tourism sector.
The need to increase attention to destination-level realities
Transitioning Sri Lanka’s tourism model towards sustainability is not an easy task, and there are many factors often cited as barriers to making tourism truly sustainable. These range from a lack of regulation, and lack of enforcement, to management issues, and political influences. However, these factors alone may not explain why although Sri Lanka markets its tourist attractions to be ‘wild’, ‘pristine’ and ‘scenic’, tourism development on the ground is far from protecting such qualities.
The strength of Sri Lanka’s natural and cultural endowments lies in the diverse spread of such places across the country, with each place having its own unique selling proposition. For example, Kurunegala, Kalpitiya, and Wilpattu are three destinations located within the North Western Province (Wayamba Tourism).
Though located nearby, each of these destinations has very different tourism and environmental attributes. However, beyond occasional (and often project-focused) stakeholder consultations, little formal efforts have been made to collaboratively manage tourism in each of these destinations. So, alongside national promotion efforts, attention must be paid to developing tourism infrastructure at the destination level including carrying capacities of natural assets, resource usage, and pollution.
Charting a way forward
Given the disconnect between Sri Lanka’s branding of tourism and the ground realities, as well as the economic realities of a country emerging out of multiple crises, how can the tourism industry balance their way across the metaphorical tightrope? Sri Lanka has the opportunity to position its tourism through a nature-positive lens, and secure long-term, sustainable profitability of the industry.
There are many actors in the tourism landscape, and they can all play a role. The Government has a vital role to play here, with its ability to help shape Sri Lanka’s brand, regulate development and protect vital natural resources.
The tourism industry itself has the opportunity to help guide and drive this shift in tourism, and in doing so capitalise on new markets and new opportunities. In the short term, smaller actors who would have felt the brunt of the economic crisis may not have the capacity to pivot immediately. However, larger players can start changing their offerings, their marketing towards a more nature-positive trajectory.
In short, continuing Sri Lanka’s current brand of tourism development is not an option – it risks nature loss and threatens environmental sustainability.
As Sri Lankan leaders once again tout higher tourist arrivals as a priority for economic recovery, there is an urgent need to rethink many aspects of our current tourism model. It is not just about formulating and projecting national destination brands, taglines, and campaigns. It is also about critically assessing, and re-defining, our long-term priorities. This may unlock pathways to make Sri Lanka’s tourism truly sustainable.
The writer is a Research Associate at Centre for a Smart Future (CSF). CSF is an interdisciplinary policy think tank focussing on an inclusive and sustainable economic recovery for Sri Lanka. Visit www.csf-asia.org/knowledge-insights for more.
