We need more than bridges to attract tourists…

Source:Island

I was intrigued reading the views of an MP where she seems to believe that the old iron bridges, built by the British throughout Sri Lanka, could be developed and made into very attractive tourist destinations. And, what’s more, she even drew comparison between the bridges in Sri Lanka (Demodara Nine Arch Bridge) and London Bridge, in the UK.

London Bridge is probably the most famously named bridge in the entire world, and there is no way that we can draw comparison between any of our British built bridges and this world famous bridge.

It’s like drawing comparison between our Independence Memorial Hall, in Colombo, and the iconic Lincoln Memorial, in the States.

For the record, London Bridge has existed, in one form or another, for nearly 2,000 years now. It’s the site of the oldest crossing of the River Thames on record.

Of course, with the pandemic now crippling the tourism industry, in all corners of the globe, we need to come up with a new strategy to woo tourists to our land like no other. But, bridges are certainly not the answer.

When the going was good (pre-pandemic) we were still not able to break into the tourist market … in a BIG way, in spite of having ‘beauty,’ in abundance.

While we struggled to reach the two million tourists arrival mark, in 2019, Thailand hit the 39.8 million that year.

Perhaps, you may wonder why I picked Thailand to draw comparison! The reason is that, together with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, I promoted ‘The Land of Smiles’ as the number one holiday destination for Sri Lankans to check out – of course, that was before the pandemic showed up.

And, in recognition of my effort, I was presented with the Friends of Thailand International Media Award, in 2013.

On my many visits to Thailand, as a journalist, I’ve only heard superlatives being used, by foreigners, to describe Sri Lanka. And, the talk has always been centred around our beautiful beaches … and Kandy – the Sri Dalada Maligawa.

Some of the tourist attractions, in Thailand, include white sandy beaches, and terrific hotels, to historic temples and mouthwatering food, not forgetting the shopping malls!

Well, haven’t we got them all – ancient temples, beautiful beaches, great hotels, star-class shopping malls … and mouthwatering food, as well! And, there’s more to add – Wildlife Parks, World Heritage sites … even a little bit of England, in Nuwara-Eliya!

With so many plus factors to woo tourists, we seem to be facing a very bumpy ride in attracting plane loads of holidaymakers. Why?

Probably, we are not conveying, in the correct manner, to holidaymakers, the world over, what we have to offer them to make their stay here a memorable experience.

Laos, with a population of a little over 7 million, had 4.58 million tourists in 2019. And, although it is a landlocked country – with no beaches – Laos makes best use of its rivers for tourist enjoyment, with accommodation, along the banks of the rivers, water sports, etc. Yes…I’ve experienced it myself.

At this point in time, we need to change gears quickly so that we would be ready to capture the tourist market, no sooner the world bounces back into ‘travel mode.’

We could also look to promote Cultural Tourism…maybe even Ayurveda and Village Life Tourism. There are several other branches of tourism we can introduce and promote.

As for Cultural Tourism, there are travellers who would very much like to engage with a country’s culture, specifically the lifestyle of the people in those geographical areas, the history of those people, their art, architecture, religion(s), and other elements that help shape their way of life. And we have a lot to offer in this regard.

So, let’s get ready and wait for the green light.