• Latest
  • Trending

A cut tree, a dead elephant, is a lost tourism dollar in the future

November 24, 2020
Sri Lanka approves emergency use of Oxford- AstraZeneca vaccine. Image credits - Newswire

Sri Lanka approves emergency use of Oxford- AstraZeneca vaccine

January 22, 2021
“De-Fi”, Finance redefined

“De-Fi”, Finance redefined

January 22, 2021
Ukrainians cancel visit to SL over PCR concerns. Image credits - Anadolu Agency

Ukrainians cancel visit to Sri Lanka over PCR concerns

January 22, 2021
Kamala Harris’ village in Tamil Nadu celebrates  inauguration

Kamala Harris’ village in Tamil Nadu celebrates inauguration

January 22, 2021
FILE PHOTO: A 3D printed Google logo is seen in this illustration taken April 12, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Google says it will shut search engine in Australia if forced to pay for news

January 22, 2021
A medical staff member receives a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at the CHIREC Delta Hospital in Brussels, Belgium January 21, 2021. REUTERS/Yves Herman

European Union to tighten travel curbs for virus hot spots as COVID-19 third wave fears mount

January 22, 2021
FILE PHOTO: People gather in the viewpoint in Leblon Beach, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil December 31, 2020. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares/File Photo

Brazil recorded a record number of divorces during the second half of 2020

January 22, 2021
India begins supply of COVID-19 vaccines to neighboring countries

India to donate COVID-19 vaccines for Sri Lanka front line workers

January 22, 2021
Fire kills five in Indian COVID-19 vaccine institute

Fire kills five in Indian COVID-19 vaccine institute

January 21, 2021
© Bang Showbiz Priyanka Chopra Jonas

Priyanka Chopra Jonas hints at shock role in The Matrix 4

January 21, 2021
BAGHDAD, IRAQ - JANUARY 21: Security forces stand guard at the explosion site after a suicide bombing attack in Baghdad, Iraq on January 21, 2021. (Photo by Murtadha Al-Sudani/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Rare twin suicide attack kills at least 28 in Baghdad

January 21, 2021
A smoke rises from fire at Serum Institute of India in Pune, India January 21, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer

Fire at India’s Serum Institute kills 5, AstraZeneca vaccine output unaffected

January 21, 2021
  • About Us
  • Advertisements
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
Friday, January 22, 2021
  • Login
  • Register
No Result
View All Result
NewsIn.Asia
  • Home
  • Around South Asia
    • All
    • Afghanistan
    • Bangladesh
    • Bhutan
    • China
    • India
    • Maldives
    • Myanmar
    • Nepal
    • Pakistan
    • Sri Lanka
    Sri Lanka approves emergency use of Oxford- AstraZeneca vaccine. Image credits - Newswire

    Sri Lanka approves emergency use of Oxford- AstraZeneca vaccine

    Ukrainians cancel visit to SL over PCR concerns. Image credits - Anadolu Agency

    Ukrainians cancel visit to Sri Lanka over PCR concerns

    Kamala Harris’ village in Tamil Nadu celebrates  inauguration

    Kamala Harris’ village in Tamil Nadu celebrates inauguration

    India begins supply of COVID-19 vaccines to neighboring countries

    India to donate COVID-19 vaccines for Sri Lanka front line workers

    Fire kills five in Indian COVID-19 vaccine institute

    Fire kills five in Indian COVID-19 vaccine institute

    A smoke rises from fire at Serum Institute of India in Pune, India January 21, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer

    Fire at India’s Serum Institute kills 5, AstraZeneca vaccine output unaffected

    A healthcare worker reacts as she receives a dose of AstraZeneca's COVISHIELD vaccine, produced by the Serum Institute of India, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination campaign at a medical centre in Mumbai, India, January 19, 2021. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo

    South Africa to pay $5.25 a dose for AstraZeneca vaccine from India’s SII

    Sri Lanka airports officially open for tourists. Image credits - Anadolu Agency

    Airports in Sri Lanka officially open for tourists

    © Provided by News18 - IPL 2021 Player retention: Mumbai Indians released Lasith Malinga as pacer wanted to retire

    IPL 2021 Player Retention: Mumbai Indians Released Lasith Malinga as Pacer Wanted to Retire

  • World
    • All
    • Japan
    • Russia
    • United States
    Ukrainians cancel visit to SL over PCR concerns. Image credits - Anadolu Agency

    Ukrainians cancel visit to Sri Lanka over PCR concerns

    FILE PHOTO: A 3D printed Google logo is seen in this illustration taken April 12, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

    Google says it will shut search engine in Australia if forced to pay for news

    A medical staff member receives a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at the CHIREC Delta Hospital in Brussels, Belgium January 21, 2021. REUTERS/Yves Herman

    European Union to tighten travel curbs for virus hot spots as COVID-19 third wave fears mount

    FILE PHOTO: People gather in the viewpoint in Leblon Beach, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil December 31, 2020. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares/File Photo

    Brazil recorded a record number of divorces during the second half of 2020

    Fire kills five in Indian COVID-19 vaccine institute

    Fire kills five in Indian COVID-19 vaccine institute

    BAGHDAD, IRAQ - JANUARY 21: Security forces stand guard at the explosion site after a suicide bombing attack in Baghdad, Iraq on January 21, 2021. (Photo by Murtadha Al-Sudani/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

    Rare twin suicide attack kills at least 28 in Baghdad

    Pope Francis leads the Angelus prayer on Epiphany, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at the Vatican, January 6, 2021. Vatican Media/­Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY.

    Pope, due to visit Iraq in March, condemns Baghdad attack

    Full text  of  President Joe Biden’s inaugural address

    Full text of President Joe Biden’s inaugural address

    FILE PHOTO: Alibaba Group co-founder and executive chairman Jack Ma attends an event at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Tianjin, China September 20, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

    Jack Ma’s reappearance fails to soothe all investor concerns

  • Business
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Gaming
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Series
    © Bang Showbiz Priyanka Chopra Jonas

    Priyanka Chopra Jonas hints at shock role in The Matrix 4

    © Bang Showbiz Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas

    Priyanka Chopra wants Hollywood to embrace Asian stories

    Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) enjoy their own show on Disney Plus. Image credits - Marvel Studios

    WandaVision first reactions are in: A ‘tantalizing experiment’ for Marvel

    Photo Feature: Galle Face promenade comes to life at dusk

    Photo Feature: Galle Face promenade comes to life at dusk

    ‘The ability to sell an unfashionably uncynical heroine in an age of moral torpor’: Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. Photograph: Clay Enos/AP

    Wonder Woman 1984 review – the superheroine 2020 needs

    Image: InnerSloth

    Nearly half a billion users played Among Us in November

    Image: CD Projekt Red

    Cyberpunk 2077 has sold more than 13 million copies, despite launch disaster and refunds

    © Sujit Jaiswal Bollywood actress Shriya Saran (C) and dancers perform for a music video in Mumbai in February. Pandemic restrictions have forbidden producers from shooting the elaborate musical sequences that are a hallmark of Hindi movies

    After a catastrophic year, Bollywood hopes for a 2021 comeback

    PHIs urge immediate border restriction for all 9 provinces in Sri Lanka

    PHIs urge immediate border restriction for all 9 provinces in Sri Lanka

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health
    • Science
    • Travel
    Ukrainians cancel visit to SL over PCR concerns. Image credits - Anadolu Agency

    Ukrainians cancel visit to Sri Lanka over PCR concerns

    FILE PHOTO: People gather in the viewpoint in Leblon Beach, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil December 31, 2020. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares/File Photo

    Brazil recorded a record number of divorces during the second half of 2020

    Sri Lanka airports officially open for tourists. Image credits - Anadolu Agency

    Airports in Sri Lanka officially open for tourists

    FILE PHOTO: An IndiGo Airlines Airbus A320 aircraft takes off in Colomiers near Toulouse, France, October 19, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo

    IndiGo tightens grip in India and targets growth abroad

    India begins supply of COVID-19 vaccines to neighboring countries

    India begins supply of COVID-19 vaccines to neighboring countries

    FILE PHOTO: NASA's Space Launch System mobile launcher stands atop Launch Pad 39B for months of testing before it will launch the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft on mission Artemis 1 at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., July 1, 2019. REUTERS/Thom Baur/File Photo

    NASA’s Boeing moon rocket cuts short ‘once-in-a-generation’ ground test

    India begins first phase of vaccination to cover 30 million people

    India begins first phase of vaccination to cover 30 million people

    Without Right Messaging, Masks Could Lead To More COVID-19 Spread. Image credits - Eurasia Review

    Without Right Messaging, Masks Could Lead To More COVID-19 Spread

    A chef prepares a sandwich with a marijuana leaf at Abhaibhubejhr hospital canteen which adds cannabis infused dishes to its menu after cannabis leaves, stems, stalks and roots were officially removed from Thailand's narcotics list, allowing basically any part of the plant except for the buds to be used for consumption in Prachin Buri province, outside Bangkok, Thailand January 15, 2021. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

    Thailand serves up cannabis cuisine to happy customers

    What’s in a name?

    What’s in a name?

    Trending Tags

    • Golden Globes
    • Mr. Robot
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Climate Change
    • Flat Earth
  • Tech
    “De-Fi”, Finance redefined

    “De-Fi”, Finance redefined

    FILE PHOTO: A 3D printed Google logo is seen in this illustration taken April 12, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

    Google says it will shut search engine in Australia if forced to pay for news

    Rege-Jean Page and Phoebe Dynevor are seen in an undated handout still from the Netflix series "Bridgerton". Netflix/Handout via REUTERS

    Netflix forecasts an end to borrowing binge, shares surge

    Turkish messaging app booms in Bangladesh

    Turkish messaging app booms in Bangladesh

    James Howells mined bitcoin for four years. BBC News

    Man who threw hard drive with 7,500 bitcoin offers $70 million to dig it from the city dump

    FILE PHOTO: The Whatsapp logo and binary cyber codes are seen in this illustration taken November 26, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

    WhatsApp to delay launch of update business features after privacy backlash

    Trending Tags

    • Sillicon Valley
    • Climate Change
    • Election Results
    • Flat Earth
    • Golden Globes
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Mr. Robot
  • Coronavirus
  • Home
  • Around South Asia
    • All
    • Afghanistan
    • Bangladesh
    • Bhutan
    • China
    • India
    • Maldives
    • Myanmar
    • Nepal
    • Pakistan
    • Sri Lanka
    Sri Lanka approves emergency use of Oxford- AstraZeneca vaccine. Image credits - Newswire

    Sri Lanka approves emergency use of Oxford- AstraZeneca vaccine

    Ukrainians cancel visit to SL over PCR concerns. Image credits - Anadolu Agency

    Ukrainians cancel visit to Sri Lanka over PCR concerns

    Kamala Harris’ village in Tamil Nadu celebrates  inauguration

    Kamala Harris’ village in Tamil Nadu celebrates inauguration

    India begins supply of COVID-19 vaccines to neighboring countries

    India to donate COVID-19 vaccines for Sri Lanka front line workers

    Fire kills five in Indian COVID-19 vaccine institute

    Fire kills five in Indian COVID-19 vaccine institute

    A smoke rises from fire at Serum Institute of India in Pune, India January 21, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer

    Fire at India’s Serum Institute kills 5, AstraZeneca vaccine output unaffected

    A healthcare worker reacts as she receives a dose of AstraZeneca's COVISHIELD vaccine, produced by the Serum Institute of India, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination campaign at a medical centre in Mumbai, India, January 19, 2021. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo

    South Africa to pay $5.25 a dose for AstraZeneca vaccine from India’s SII

    Sri Lanka airports officially open for tourists. Image credits - Anadolu Agency

    Airports in Sri Lanka officially open for tourists

    © Provided by News18 - IPL 2021 Player retention: Mumbai Indians released Lasith Malinga as pacer wanted to retire

    IPL 2021 Player Retention: Mumbai Indians Released Lasith Malinga as Pacer Wanted to Retire

  • World
    • All
    • Japan
    • Russia
    • United States
    Ukrainians cancel visit to SL over PCR concerns. Image credits - Anadolu Agency

    Ukrainians cancel visit to Sri Lanka over PCR concerns

    FILE PHOTO: A 3D printed Google logo is seen in this illustration taken April 12, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

    Google says it will shut search engine in Australia if forced to pay for news

    A medical staff member receives a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at the CHIREC Delta Hospital in Brussels, Belgium January 21, 2021. REUTERS/Yves Herman

    European Union to tighten travel curbs for virus hot spots as COVID-19 third wave fears mount

    FILE PHOTO: People gather in the viewpoint in Leblon Beach, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil December 31, 2020. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares/File Photo

    Brazil recorded a record number of divorces during the second half of 2020

    Fire kills five in Indian COVID-19 vaccine institute

    Fire kills five in Indian COVID-19 vaccine institute

    BAGHDAD, IRAQ - JANUARY 21: Security forces stand guard at the explosion site after a suicide bombing attack in Baghdad, Iraq on January 21, 2021. (Photo by Murtadha Al-Sudani/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

    Rare twin suicide attack kills at least 28 in Baghdad

    Pope Francis leads the Angelus prayer on Epiphany, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at the Vatican, January 6, 2021. Vatican Media/­Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY.

    Pope, due to visit Iraq in March, condemns Baghdad attack

    Full text  of  President Joe Biden’s inaugural address

    Full text of President Joe Biden’s inaugural address

    FILE PHOTO: Alibaba Group co-founder and executive chairman Jack Ma attends an event at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Tianjin, China September 20, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

    Jack Ma’s reappearance fails to soothe all investor concerns

  • Business
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Gaming
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Series
    © Bang Showbiz Priyanka Chopra Jonas

    Priyanka Chopra Jonas hints at shock role in The Matrix 4

    © Bang Showbiz Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas

    Priyanka Chopra wants Hollywood to embrace Asian stories

    Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) enjoy their own show on Disney Plus. Image credits - Marvel Studios

    WandaVision first reactions are in: A ‘tantalizing experiment’ for Marvel

    Photo Feature: Galle Face promenade comes to life at dusk

    Photo Feature: Galle Face promenade comes to life at dusk

    ‘The ability to sell an unfashionably uncynical heroine in an age of moral torpor’: Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. Photograph: Clay Enos/AP

    Wonder Woman 1984 review – the superheroine 2020 needs

    Image: InnerSloth

    Nearly half a billion users played Among Us in November

    Image: CD Projekt Red

    Cyberpunk 2077 has sold more than 13 million copies, despite launch disaster and refunds

    © Sujit Jaiswal Bollywood actress Shriya Saran (C) and dancers perform for a music video in Mumbai in February. Pandemic restrictions have forbidden producers from shooting the elaborate musical sequences that are a hallmark of Hindi movies

    After a catastrophic year, Bollywood hopes for a 2021 comeback

    PHIs urge immediate border restriction for all 9 provinces in Sri Lanka

    PHIs urge immediate border restriction for all 9 provinces in Sri Lanka

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health
    • Science
    • Travel
    Ukrainians cancel visit to SL over PCR concerns. Image credits - Anadolu Agency

    Ukrainians cancel visit to Sri Lanka over PCR concerns

    FILE PHOTO: People gather in the viewpoint in Leblon Beach, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil December 31, 2020. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares/File Photo

    Brazil recorded a record number of divorces during the second half of 2020

    Sri Lanka airports officially open for tourists. Image credits - Anadolu Agency

    Airports in Sri Lanka officially open for tourists

    FILE PHOTO: An IndiGo Airlines Airbus A320 aircraft takes off in Colomiers near Toulouse, France, October 19, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo

    IndiGo tightens grip in India and targets growth abroad

    India begins supply of COVID-19 vaccines to neighboring countries

    India begins supply of COVID-19 vaccines to neighboring countries

    FILE PHOTO: NASA's Space Launch System mobile launcher stands atop Launch Pad 39B for months of testing before it will launch the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft on mission Artemis 1 at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., July 1, 2019. REUTERS/Thom Baur/File Photo

    NASA’s Boeing moon rocket cuts short ‘once-in-a-generation’ ground test

    India begins first phase of vaccination to cover 30 million people

    India begins first phase of vaccination to cover 30 million people

    Without Right Messaging, Masks Could Lead To More COVID-19 Spread. Image credits - Eurasia Review

    Without Right Messaging, Masks Could Lead To More COVID-19 Spread

    A chef prepares a sandwich with a marijuana leaf at Abhaibhubejhr hospital canteen which adds cannabis infused dishes to its menu after cannabis leaves, stems, stalks and roots were officially removed from Thailand's narcotics list, allowing basically any part of the plant except for the buds to be used for consumption in Prachin Buri province, outside Bangkok, Thailand January 15, 2021. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

    Thailand serves up cannabis cuisine to happy customers

    What’s in a name?

    What’s in a name?

    Trending Tags

    • Golden Globes
    • Mr. Robot
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Climate Change
    • Flat Earth
  • Tech
    “De-Fi”, Finance redefined

    “De-Fi”, Finance redefined

    FILE PHOTO: A 3D printed Google logo is seen in this illustration taken April 12, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

    Google says it will shut search engine in Australia if forced to pay for news

    Rege-Jean Page and Phoebe Dynevor are seen in an undated handout still from the Netflix series "Bridgerton". Netflix/Handout via REUTERS

    Netflix forecasts an end to borrowing binge, shares surge

    Turkish messaging app booms in Bangladesh

    Turkish messaging app booms in Bangladesh

    James Howells mined bitcoin for four years. BBC News

    Man who threw hard drive with 7,500 bitcoin offers $70 million to dig it from the city dump

    FILE PHOTO: The Whatsapp logo and binary cyber codes are seen in this illustration taken November 26, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

    WhatsApp to delay launch of update business features after privacy backlash

    Trending Tags

    • Sillicon Valley
    • Climate Change
    • Election Results
    • Flat Earth
    • Golden Globes
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Mr. Robot
  • Coronavirus
No Result
View All Result
NewsIn.Asia
No Result
View All Result
Home Development news

A cut tree, a dead elephant, is a lost tourism dollar in the future

In the four decades since its economy was opened, Sri Lanka has never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity

Editor by Editor
November 24, 2020
in Development news, Economy, Recommend, Sri Lanka, Travel
Reading Time: 11min read
1 1
Share on WhatsApp

By Michel Nugawela and Pesala Karunaratna

Colombo, November 23 (newsin.asia): The coronavirus crisis throws into sharp relief the tenuous state of Sri Lanka’s economy. The government is drastically impacted by a steep fall in foreign exchange earnings. While committed to export expansion, however, it remains handicapped by decades of unpreparedness in strengthening the underlying enablers of competitiveness.

This opinion paper proposes a refocus on tourism as the priority sector to drive growth as the government begins the difficult and lengthy task of reforming, restructuring, and strengthening national competitiveness. This will require shifting away from one-size-fits-all marketing under the mass tourism model to developing a product differentiation strategy that targets the best tourists – the high value traveller – with our best assets – nature and wildlife. This broad and diverse segment of travellers outspend mass tourists by 3-4 times and will be the first to travel and visit other countries once global mobility returns in 2021.

However, the high rate of deforestation dismantles the only competitive advantage Sri Lanka now has to compete internationally and increase its exports of services. By stripping away nature and wildlife assets, the destination will be left with only its beaches and reputation for cheap sea-sun-sand tourism in the future.

Stagnant exports of goods and services

Exports of goods and services (% of GDP) was reported at 18.8% in 2019 of which goods accounted for 14.2% and services for 4.6%. In the years 2015-2019, total exports of goods grew from $10,547mn to $11,940mn  – CAGR 3.15% – while total exports of services increased from $3,266mn to $3,888mn – just CAGR 4.45%.

Sri Lanka continues to lag other emerging economies in Asia that have successfully transitioned from an overreliance on primary goods to achieve export diversification and sophistication. In 1989, our total exports of goods and services as a percentage of GDP was 21.4% against Vietnam’s 16.5%. Thirty years later, our exports had shrunk to 18.8% as Vietnam’s increased to 119.3%. The reasons for this disparity can be found in the underlying enablers of export competitiveness where Sri Lanka’s capabilities are weak or entirely lacking.

Consider the example of India’s BPO industry which is around 1% of the country’s GDP and 6% share of global BPO, directly and indirectly employing 10mn people. According to Tholons and AT Kearney Indexes of 2019, India remains the leading country to outsource because of cheap labour costs, a huge talent pool of skilled, English-speaking professionals (India’s English proficiency: #35/100 in the world and #5/25 in Asia), and tech-savvy manpower, despite competition from The Philippines, Vietnam and other Asian countries.

Price and contribution of unskilled or market-ready labour

We are stagnating at middle-income levels. The unskilled labour market demands higher wages and Sri Lanka lacks a pool of skilled market-ready workers (unlike the example of India, above).

Trade agreements that give producers access to a larger market

Domestic interest groups in Sri Lanka have opposed and successfully pressured governments to abandon free trade agreements. Meanwhile, emerging economies like Vietnam have made huge economic advances through trade liberalization and global integration. Since its Doi Moi reforms, the country has signed 12 (mostly bilateral) FTAs that have increased trade by ten-fold – from US$30bn in 2000 to almost US$300bn by 2014 – shifting it away from exports of primary goods and low-tech manufacturing products to more complex high-tech goods like electronics, machinery, vehicles and medical devices. The competitiveness of its exports will continue to increase, firstly, through more diversified input sources from larger trade networks and cheaper imports of intermediate goods from partner countries, and secondly, through partnerships with foreign firms that transfer the know-how and technology that is needed to leap into higher valued-added production.

Today, global firms optimize resources by investing or outsourcing the design, procurement, production, or distribution stages of their value chain activities across different countries. Yet since 1978, Sri Lanka has only captured share in the manufacturing and design stages of the global apparel value chain. The examples of Vietnam and Thailand demonstrate how both economies have become integral to different stages of the smartphone and automobile value chains for Samsung and Toyota.

Michel Nugawela

Vietnam: Vietnam attracted Samsung at the early stages of smartphone evolution. Samsung established its first factory in Vietnam in 2008, when smartphone penetration was 10.8% globally; today it has three factories in Vietnam and world smartphone penetration is at 41%. Samsung remains the single largest foreign investor in Vietnam, with investments totaling $17bn (20% of Sri Lanka’s GDP) whilst Vietnam’s exports of smartphones and spare parts, mostly produced by Samsung Electronics, account for $51.38bn (20% of Vietnam’s GDP). On top of the current $220mn Samsung R&D center, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has requested Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong to next invest in a chip manufacturing plant, further strengthening the country’s competitiveness and sophistication in exports.

Thailand: Toyota’s decision to enter the Thai automobile market in 1962 was largely due to the country’s industrial policy regime. Today – after 6 decades of concentrated effort between the Thai government and Toyota – Thailand is becoming a global passenger car production hub. Toyota’s investments have also helped to transfer knowledge and technology into Thailand, strengthening the R&D capabilities of Thai engineers. Toyota Thailand president Michinobu Sugata has expressed complete confidence in both Thailand and the company’s future direction in the country.

Since 1978, Sri Lanka has repeatedly missed opportunities to enter or establish itself in global value chains and production networks. We continue to be unplanned and unprepared in strengthening the underlying enablers of export competitiveness. Expect meagre export growth to continue.

Slow flowing foreign direct investment

These enablers of competitiveness are also the most important considerations to increase foreign direct investment. Inflows between 2015-2019 totalled $6.4bn, averaging $1.2bn every year and merely growing by CAGR 0.93% (this excludes the 99-year lease of Hambantota port to China in exchange for $1.1bn). Without improving supply-side constraints, international investors will remain reluctant to sink substantial resources in the country.

Strengthening the underlying enablers of competitiveness will take time. Expect stagnation in FDI inflows to continue.

Pesala Karunaratna

Sluggish foreign worker remittances

Sri Lanka has become a major country of origin for unskilled workers with minimal economic value. Wage receipts, which amounted to $6,717mn in 2019 or 8% of GDP, negatively grew by CAGR -0.96% between the years 2015-2019. In 2019, the highest inflow ($3,459mn) came from the Middle East, a segment that participates in the lowest economic positions and lacks the skills, abilities and qualifications to mitigate any downturn in value in remittance flows.

However, the demographics are changing for neighbouring countries like India, where an increasing number of skilled white-collar workers (a growing cohort of professionals in the IT and engineering fields, according to MoneyGram) are quadrupling the average volume per each remittance.

To export quality human capital and increase our share of foreign-earned wages, Sri Lanka must introduce transformational policy reforms in education. Our university system – supported by proactive primary and secondary education systems – must be restructured to produce market-ready workers with the skills and adaptability to learn, grow and respond to change.

Reforms in the education sector will take time. Improving value in wage receipts remains a remote opportunity in the near future.

Amid no support or concentrated effort, tourism receipts grow double-digit

Tourism continued to expand and record double-digit growth of CAGR 13.69% between the years 2015-2018, despite the absence of a national strategy and a high percentage of low-income visitors. As a single sector, tourism receipts amounted to $4,381mn in 2018 or 4.96% of GDP and trended towards topping that in 2019. As Sri Lanka is weak or entirely lacking in the underlying enablers of competitiveness, and continues to be unplanned and unprepared in all other means of earning foreign exchange, tourism is the priority sector to drive economic growth in the short to medium-term.

The myth of mass tourism

For Sri Lanka, mass tourism has its advantages; it produces high revenues at high seasons by attracting tourists looking for the cheapest way to holiday (Sri Lanka’s largest inbound mass tourist markets are India, Britain, China, Germany, France, Australia, Russia, the US, the Maldives, and Canada). The mass tourism sector is also one of the largest employers in the country, providing direct and indirect employment to about 400,000 people.

But there are inherent constraints to the mass tourism model – such as its high seasonality, low average length of stay and low occupancy rates – which accelerate a downward pressure on prices. By repeatedly discounting for shrinking tourism dollars, mass tourism suppliers attract tourists who don’t spend (enough) and the tourism product stagnates: service quality decreases and consumer dissatisfaction increases over time. Finally, the destination gains popularity and is promoted for inexpensive travel.

To increase occupancy rates and avoid economic losses during off-peak seasons, mass tourism suppliers also rely heavily on all-inclusive packages. By inviting tourists to leave their wallets at home and remain within the hotel (typically, the pool, bar and restaurant), they inhibit the dispersion of economic benefits to wider communities or the economically disadvantaged.

For example, mass tourists venturing out of their segregated enclaves to ‘do’ Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa, or Anuradhapura shuttle point-to-point between iconic sites and resorts in the round tour circuit. Individuals and businesses (such as the restaurants, shops, and local transportation services in the vicinity) that aren’t fortunate enough to be part of a package that grants access to this self-contained world receive zero to limited economic benefits. (Studies of all-inclusive packages internationally show that only about 10% of tourism spending directly benefits the local economy.)

Most – if not all – mass tourism suppliers in Sri Lanka also acquire the majority of their business through foreign operators, whose tactics of choice include pitting hotels and resorts against each other to secure the cheapest room rates. By outsourcing their marketing function to these same operators, the suppliers subordinate themselves to the competing interests of the operators and, in turn, diminish their ability to explore more profitable markets and distribution channels.

The same principle applies to destinations. For example, Lonely Planet’s ‘Best In Travel’ listing ranks its top destinations, regions and cities to visit each year. Sri Lanka took the top spot in 2019 – much to the sectors elation – and yet bear in mind that no single destination is featured in any two consecutive years. Countries are elevated one year, only to be tactically removed in the next. Foreign tour operators also promote destinations to prospective customers – once again, a different destination (or list of destinations) each year – ensuring bargaining power against suppliers/destinations remain stacked in their favour (and with it a high dependency on their global brands, markets, and channels).

Even as the tourism sector languishes through the Covid crisis – which, if anything, should motivate a meaningful search to curtail its own unhealthy overreliance on mass tourism markets – there is still no specific strategy or objective to address the non-differentiation of Sri Lanka’s tourism product. This is not entirely surprising; when footfall is high, the mass tourism sector replicates more of the same; when demand is low, it discounts prices instead of differentiating the product. In a crisis, it simply has no response to the need for better tourists, and a better distribution of tourist by season or location, for the destination.

The untapped potential of alternate tourism

The global tourism sector is expected to return to pre-pandemic tourism levels by 2024 – a slow and lengthy recovery period that has significantly impacted the mass tourism segment. Many consumers have lost wages or jobs, and since travelling will take a larger share of their disposable income, it is extremely unlikely that a rebound in visitor flows will equate with a recovery in visitor spending (expect more cheap all-inclusive packages to lure more cheap tourists). According to international research, the travel behaviour and preferences of the mass tourist will also look different in the future as they take fewer, more memorable trips, with a greater demand for experiences in the outdoors away from crowds.

Meanwhile, high-value travelers – the segment Sri Lanka has consistently overlooked in its drive for ‘more’ (volume over value/quantity over quality) – will continue to travel in significant numbers as global mobility returns in 2021. Yet here too, their motivations and behaviours converge on the need for unique and meaningful experiences in nature and wildlife – again, where Sri Lanka has failed to develop and differentiate its product.

Many countries have used the pause this year to rethink their business as usual model and search for answers to important questions such as: will the post-Covid tourists be the kind of visitor we want? Will they improve seasonal spend, stay longer, and disperse economic benefits further into local communities? New Zealand, for example, is ‘reimagining tourism’, with key stakeholders arguing for a value over volume approach to managing tourism numbers while they await an industry recovery. Tourism is New Zealand’s biggest export industry, contributing 20.4% of total exports or 5.8 % of its GDP in 2019.

Meanwhile, Tourism Australia has identified a market opportunity of 80m high value travellers globally, of whom 32mn consider Australia as a destination to visit in the next four years. ‘Nature & Wildlife’ is the #1 driver of destination choice for this demographic from their 14 key inbound markets. This bears repeating: 72% Chinese, 73% Indians, 63% Indonesians, 76% Japanese, 66% Singaporeans, 67% South Koreans, 79% British, 63% US, 74% Germans, 68% Hong Kongers, 65% Malaysians, and 73% New Zealanders from the high value traveller segment visit Australia to experience its nature and wildlife assets.

Malaysia acknowledged the natural wealth of its country to drive revenue even earlier. In 1996, it published its National Ecotourism Plan to attract more visitors and increase visitor spend by developing competitiveness in its nature and wildlife assets. In 2002, nature and wildlife tourism established 10% of the country’s tourism sector; by 2019, this had tripled to 30.4%.

$11m is a wild elephant’s lifelong intrinsic value to tourism

We can no longer be blind to what we are most blessed with. Instead of playing to our strengths, we continue to run a race in a global tourism market where the ten major destinations attract 70% of the worldwide tourism market. It is now time to match our best assets – nature and wildlife – with the best tourists – the high value traveller. And this can be done. Our natural landscapes and attractions boast of the richest species concentration in Asia and one of the highest rates of biological endemism in the world, for both plants and animals.

Consider the wild elephant population: 70% roam outside the protected areas, offering the best viewing opportunities in Asia and representing a huge revenue stream for the tourism sector. We determine the tourism value of a single elephant, alive, to contribute $0.16mn per year. Since elephants live for up to 70 years, the total revenue that a single elephant can generate is immense – $11mn over its lifetime to our hotels, resorts, airlines, travel companies, and – potentially – local economies.

We say “potentially” because the value per elephant is significantly diminished under the mass tourism model, where the asset is perceived as an irrelevant pest rather than an important generator of profits. (Conversely, these assets are precisely what high value travellers – who outspend mass tourists by 3-4 times – value most). As global demand rises, therefore, Sri Lanka’s supply diminishes: 350 elephants perished in 2019 – an estimated commercial loss of $3.9bn to the sector, which is the value the animals would have distributed among the recipients in the tourism sector had they lived their lives fully.

Deforestation also dismantles the very assets – animal or plant, elephant or forest – that are required for a product differentiation strategy. When ancient migratory corridors are disrupted, elephants will die. When forests are uprooted, we will no longer be ‘green’ – a fundamental driver of destination choice for high value travellers. When the damage is done – when our natural assets are stripped away – Sri Lanka will no longer be able to position itself as anything other than a cheap destination for sun-sea-sand tourism. The entry of international budget hotel chains over the past half-decade point to our destination relevance in the future.

Amid the increase in deforestation, the silence from the mass tourism sector is deafening, revealing, firstly, just how disconnected its suppliers are from the wider ecology within which they operate, and secondly, the poverty of their vision for the sector and country.

It should come as no surprise, then, that disruption to the mass tourism model has come from the market’s edges rather than any single operator within the mass tourism sector. Dilmah has brought its compelling vision and business strategy to compete against commoditization in the tea industry to the tourism sector. Its luxury offering can generate eight times more revenue per tourist than the mass tourism offering, indicating the potential Sri Lanka has to pivot from mass to class and drive revenue as a destination.

We would question whether it is even possible to carve out other profitable niches without building on Sri Lanka’s strengths in nature. Consider the wellness segment which reconnects consumers to nature through the restorative benefits of ayurvedic medicine and Hela Wedakama, the mindfulness meditation techniques of Buddhism, and yoga retreats. In a short span of time, the segment already accounts for $180mn export revenue (while the spices sector, which has existed for centuries, accounts just $300mn).

A reality check

Sri Lanka is weak or entirely lacking in the underlying enablers of export competitiveness. Without improved FDI flows, the government remains incapable of single-handedly investing in infrastructure and injecting working capital to promote export-driven businesses.

Allocating forest-land to export development (when Sri Lanka is weak or entirely lacking in its enablers and as the twelve BOI export processing zones remain largely unutilized) also dismantles the only competitive advantage Sri Lanka has to compete in international markets and double or triple its export earnings, or, as in the case of New Zealand, to push the tourism sector to become the primary source of foreign exchange for the country.

By stripping away these assets, we are left with only our beaches and reputation for cheap sea-sun-sand tourism. The tourism sector is therefore not a fringe player in what happens next – it is right at the centre, because it is these very assets that enable its future competitiveness.

Managed strategically, our nature and wildlife assets can bring an overall volume of revenue to support economic growth as we begin the difficult and time-consuming task of reforming, restructuring and strengthening capabilities in the enablers of competitiveness. We must now urgently commit to a diverse tourism portfolio targetting different tourism segments. A cut tree, a dead elephant, is a lost tourism dollar in the future.

END

 

SendShare8Tweet1ShareShare
Editor

Editor

Recommended Articles

  • All
  • Recommend
Full text  of  President Joe Biden’s inaugural address

Full text of President Joe Biden’s inaugural address

January 21, 2021
Geo-political dimensions of Pakistan PM’s visit to Sri Lanka

Geo-political dimensions of Pakistan PM’s visit to Sri Lanka

January 20, 2021
India begins supply of COVID-19 vaccines to neighboring countries

India begins supply of COVID-19 vaccines to neighboring countries

January 19, 2021
Adani and Ambani caught in the Indian farmers’ storm

Adani and Ambani caught in the Indian farmers’ storm

January 19, 2021
Clashing demands from Sri Lanka pose a serious challenge to UNHRC

Clashing demands from Sri Lanka pose a serious challenge to UNHRC

January 19, 2021
The rise, fall and revival of a war memorial in Jaffna

The rise, fall and revival of a war memorial in Jaffna

January 18, 2021

Advertorial

  • All
  • Advertorial
Visual and Textual Analysis for Images with Reverse Search Tools

Visual and Textual Analysis for Images with Reverse Search Tools

January 3, 2021

Popular Now

  • Kamala and Rohini:  The Indo-Lankan combo in the US Vice President’s Office

    Kamala and Rohini: The Indo-Lankan combo in the US Vice President’s Office

    121 shares
    Share 74 Tweet 20
  • Covid-19: PHIs in Sri Lanka warn of critical time in coming weeks

    21 shares
    Share 9 Tweet 5
  • Dire need to understand how the world’s ports and shipping work

    71 shares
    Share 60 Tweet 5
  • Indonesia’s Islamic body deems Sinovac vaccine ‘holy and halal’

    18 shares
    Share 7 Tweet 5
  • HSBC to close 82 branches this year

    13 shares
    Share 6 Tweet 3
  • About Us
  • Advertisements
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

© 2020 NewsIn.Asia - Lovingly maintained by DigitalArc.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Around South Asia
    • Afghanistan
    • Bangladesh
    • Bhutan
    • China
    • India
    • Maldives
    • Myanmar
    • Nepal
    • Pakistan
    • Sri Lanka
  • Around The World
  • Breaking News
  • Business
    • Exchange
  • Climate Change
  • Governance
    • Crime
    • Diplomacy
    • Defense
    • Human Rights
    • Politics
    • Strategic Affairs
  • Lifestyle
    • Books
    • Entertainment
      • Arts
      • Cinema
      • Gaming
      • Music
      • Movie
      • Series
      • TV
    • Health
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Travel
  • Culture
    • Ethnicity
    • Gender
  • Development news
  • Economy
  • Education
  • Environment
  • Coronavirus
  • History
  • National
  • Offbeat
    • Media
    • Music and arts across South Asia
  • Recommended
    • Headlines
    • Highlights
    • Top Picture
    • Top Story
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Cricket
      • LPL
      • IPL
    • Tennis
    • Formula 1
    • NBA
  • Tech
    • Instagram
  • United Nations
  • Weather
  • World
    • Japan
    • Russia
    • United States

© 2020 NewsIn.Asia - Lovingly maintained by DigitalArc.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In