The future of tourism in Sri Lanka: A conversation with Renton de Alwis
Renton de Alwis was one time Chairman for Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau. As noted on this website, he has over 35 years experience in marketing, communications and tourism related areas, having worked in an international environment covering over 30 countries.
In this interview we talk about the future of tourism in Sri Lanka. Renton comes out strongly in favour of the greening of Sri Lanka and eco-tourism in line with our traditions and culture. I asked him about the Akon incident, but he said he didn’t know enough to comment. After speaking at length about the environment, Renton in the last minutes of the interview went on to ardently support the commercial use of land in Kalpitiya, owned by the State, for tourism purposes. He noted that the best use for this land would be to turn it into a gambling centre, modelled on the lines of Macau. Details about the proposed developments in Kalpitiya can be found on the web fairly easily. What cannot be found as readily are very serious concerns that environmentalists and conservationists have about this development in the region, and the resulting impact on ecosystems and livelihoods.
Deshan Tennekoon is one of Sri Lanka’s best photographers. Titled The Lagoon, the Islands and the Sea, a recent lecture of his at the Fulbright Commission in Colombo, along with Devaka Seneviratne, was on Kalpitiya. As Deshan notes on his blog,
The lives centered on the lagoon and the many marine species of the area are special to the Kalpitiya peninsula. The advent of the Kalpitiya development plan, the impending construction of countless hotels, an airstrip and underwater parks will change irrevocably, these unique natural spaces. This is an attempt to document the rare beauty of an environment and a way of life, while they still exist.
Readers are invited to engage with Renton’s vision for the development of tourism in Sri Lanka, and the controversial notes he ends this conversation on.
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The comments Mr. De Alwis makes about the development of Kalpitiya using Macau a a model are quite frightening. The same issue was raised at a lecture I gave last week with Devaka Seneviratne and we were as flabbergasted as you looked toward the end of your interview. It is inconceivable that the motive seems to be the very fact that Kalpitiya is comprised of fragile, low-lying ecosystems.
aw please – anyone who has traveled anywhere in the South Asia region knows that our civilized neighbor countries have commercial centres which make your eyes pop- tourists have much better casinos and what not where they come from.
the cost of living isnt really competitive here,either so the only way you can really hope to attract foreigners is by giving them something they DONT have, like wildlife and heritage, so its such a shame that our short sighted planners are doing to destroy that first. totally pathetic , hello!
Tks Ground Views on featuring my interview with Ya TV and the reference to my thoughts on the use of the Kalpitiya area for gaming. I am also happy to see the presentation on the current ecological value of Kalpitiya, with which I agree in full. Since I did not have the opportunity to appropriately develop my thoughts at the interview, (Sanjana was after me getting me to respond to the Akkon issue, on which my interest is very limited, and I believe that there are other bigger issues we need to address in the country), I am taking this as a preamble to develop a an intelligent discussion on this issue.
Let me at the outset state that I am by training a resource economist with conservation and coastal zone management as my specialisation with a post graduate degree from the University of Hawaii (East West Centre grantee) in the 1970s and was a pioneer member of the conservation movement in Sri Lanka. This is to establish that my love for the conservation of our ecological heritage is with a solid base.
I have in the recent past also followed the scientific evidence on climate change and global warming including the controversies and differing views held by many segments on sea level rise.
I also dedicated the last 20 years of my professional life working in several regions of the world in tourism and related areas of activity. I have visited over 60 countries and am privy to the good, bad and the ugly of tourism in many places. I was among other things, Chief Technical Advisor of Nepal’s Partnership for Quality Tourism project in 1997, chaired the Bhutan Tourism Planning workshop in 2002 and also chaired the PATA’s International Task Force for Developing Gaming for Tourism in 2002 and worked in the Asian region as PATA’s VP for Asia based in Singapore.
My position on developing a gaming resort in Kalpitiya is to ensure that of the 4000 acres, half on the landward edge of the peninsular is used, keeping the rest of the areas (i.e. the islands for low density extremely eco-sound development). The low lying areas of Kalpitiya indeed will face the threat of global warming and sea level rise (if the Maldives is to be affected as its own President has recognised).
We must admit that tourism revenues are a good source to sustain the environment from further decay and even enhance it. But damage, if at all must not be done everywhere but be contained in a limited area. Gaming does not require last expands of land or facilities. Gamers (Chinese, Indians, most other Asian and also Westerners) are not interested in traversing heritage sites or ecologically sensitive areas. It is basically a closed door activity. But generates fast returns. It can be the way in which we can save most of Kalpitiya and the rest of the country’s environment, while having an out to generate funds for undertaking social and other development activities. It is better than having our mothers and sisters working away from their families in the middle east generating foreign exchange for the country, money with which we eat the apples and oranges that we import and use for business activities.
It would be good to have an interaction in writing (emphasis in writing) on this issue, for it an important aspect we should discuss on ensuring a better future development of our tourism, away from the conventional model of selling to groups with forward contracts.
We need to have our environment in tact while we benefit from all development activities and for that we need to give an take. That giving and taking must be carefully thought out and our policy makers need be guided right. Not with emotional jargon but with rational proposals.
In service
Renton de Alwis
Message to participants at Akon & Buddhism post conversation/debate (the never ending one
– [Yapa, SomewhatD, etc.]
The comments limit may have been reached at that article, according to Groundviews (appears there are close to 1000 comments there). I have not been able to leave a comment there all day. So, my comments from today will have to be posted at my New SL Agnostics blog:
http://newslagnostic.blogspot.com/
Thanks, see ya there perhaps.
(& thanks Groundviews for allowing this off-topic comment at this post)
- S
I was in agreement with Mr de Alwis re promoting tourism via the internet, exploring bed n breakfast possibilities, and highlighting experiences like the “irida pola” etc instead of selling rooms and building more rooms. Was okay with the way he evaded the Akon issue too but at the end he shot himself in the foot with the casino suggestion. In his written response he seems to be unhappy with the fact that the ladies in SL go to the middle east and earn by the sweat of their brow and send money to SL but quite okay with the fact that “foreiners: can come and make quick money at a casino, and this money can be used for social welfare! What about the social issues quite apart from the environmental issues that will result in having a casino? Guess as long as it is the foreigners who are affected by social issues and in his mind no locals will be affected it is ok, after all every other country is doing it….so lets do it.
In closing I want to comment that the interviewer is impressive he very often manages to disarm the interviewed and then skilfully expose their incongruent thought process……(if indeed it is incongruent) .this is not the first instance I have observed it. Also, he is always well read on his subject matter and comes across as sincerely wanting to address issues of national importance. Would love to see him moderate an international forum like “hard talk” or similar..
All tourists do not come to sri lanka to visit our ruined cities and be awed by our ancient civilisation.Most come to escape their humdrum life of working daily with hardly any time for relaxation/enjoyment. Enjoyment in another country can be in many ways – just to relax in a new environment such as a hotel with views,shops and sourrounding countryside which they have never seen,travel within the country which will fascinate many with vistas not seen before, surfing,swimming etc in beaches undisturbed, uncrowded, like in their countries etc. Some come even to have a romantic/sexual adventure free from prying eyes in their countries.Go to any tourist hotel swimming pool and one can see local gogolos (who do not stay in any hotel) picking up lonely women tourists who desire a fling,even a ‘one night stand’ with no strings attached, which will later be a distant pleasant memory for them. There are also. pedophiles who come to pick up beach boys – lanka is/was touted as a pedophles’ paradise in travel magazines – cheap too.
The idea of casinos to earn dollars from gaming addicts may be OK if it is regulated and confined strictly to specific areas – gaming is even now and has been in the past, happening in colombo and a few other towns for years. Kalpitiya where a part of the area can be used for this purpose will be a good idea.
I am dismayed to hear a leading tourism expert guided by ‘buddhist principles’ talking about promoting ugly casino tourism which is really promoted in regions with little else to attract tourists like in the desert of Las Vegas. According to my reading of Deshan’s study, Kalpitiya is a critically located in terms of marine biodiversity and supports an extremely fragile eco system due to its geophysical formation. In addition,the ocean bordering the north west coastal region is known to be the the main breeding grounds for all varieties of marine life found in the Indian ocean. Due to this factor, it is also noted for rare bird life, particularly migrant birds, from the northern hemisphere.Consequently, it is essential that we obtain the expertise of oceanographers, marine biologists and tourism experts in conducting a proper Enviorenmental Impact Assessment (EIA) before embarking on a tourism project of the magnitude envisaged in Kalpitiya. In fact, I believe that the Indian govt cancelled the Sethu samudram project on account of the region’s ecological significance and fragility relation to the entire Indian Ocean.
Unfortunately, it appears that the original EIA which was unfavourable for tourism development has been replaced by a second EIA which has been politically manipulated to down play the adverse enviorenmental consequences. Renton appears to be ignorant or in a state of denial of these devious plans to exploit the area by the political and business elite for personal gain causing irrevocable damage to the ecology of the area which is a national asset belonging not only to all citizens of Sri Lanka but also to all the peoples of the Indian Ocean region.
It is tantamount to killing the goose that lays the golden egg.
I beleive that Kalpitiya and the many islands(4000 acres belonging to the govt) along the sand bar must be conserved as a sanctuary which can be visted by a controlled flow of tourists from resorts built well away from the area. In this way, we need not sacrifice tourist income essential for economic development as well.
It wont be long before Sri Lanka destroys Kalpitiya. A casino in the middle of a wild life sanctuary. This attitude will lead to the end of tourism in sri lanka. Turn Kalpitiya into another bustling town and the tourists just will stop going there with time. It’ll be too crowded, too polluted, the wild life would be gone. The beaches would be polluted. Why can’t we preserve the beauty of nature and the wild life that thrive there both on land and in the sea. This is sri lanka’s natural resource and if we ruin it and destroy it we will never get it back again. Please don’t ruin the beauty that makes us a pearl in the Indian Ocean. Aren’t there enough and more casino’s in Colombo as it is?
Dear Mr. De Alwis,
I am afraid I will have to contest your assertion that you are thinking out of the box with your proposal on how best to develop Kalpitiya. Firstly you appear to be rather naïve, in assuming that if these ‘casinos’ become hugely profitable that the developers will be satisfied with half the land in Kalpitiya. You should visit places like Tahoe and Vegas to see how land hungry developers truly get once faced with the prospects of big money. The fact that development in the name of greed gobbles up sensitive land in the US should give you some indication of how that will go in our sunny paradise.
Additionally the idea that Casinos and gaming complexes are somehow low impact, the pressure primarily on water supplies will be immense and as to how Kalpitiya will provide is something of a mystery. Not to mention the supply chain needed to keep the high end gamblers happy with regard to dietary needs, etc. Huge electricity needs for air conditioning these complexes; the list really does go on.
Your contention that somehow it is ‘better’ to have ‘closed door’ tourist activities to preserve the environment seems shockingly ignorant of the ground conditions in Kalpitiya and globally really. As with most places in the world, the human is an essential part of the ecosystem (like it or not) as such the approach of isolating humanity to one convenient part of the ecosystem to do their evil ways while preserving the other section in its ‘pristine’ condition never really works. Kalpitiya already has people using the natural resources, fishermen, etc so such an approach as suggested by you beggars belief in its lack of logic.
Overall the proposal for Kalpitiya is ridiculous, generic and shows little imagination or ‘out of the box’ thinking. What would be truly ‘out of the box’ would be playing to Kalpitiya’s strengths, the wildlife, the scenery, using the communities there, providing training and facilities for low impact, high value adventure tourism that would provide employment for more and bring tourists who are genuinely interested in the environment they are visiting. Of course on the con side this would mean less big value development so would be less politically attractive as there would be fewer opportunities for the politicos to skim of big construction contracts.
At the end of the day, the primary lack of logic in your proposal is that this gambling complex(es) could be built anywhere in Sri Lanka, heck in Katunayake or Kiribathgoda since the tourists only come for the gambling. So build somewhere like that and use the money generated “for undertaking social and other development activities.”
A little common sense might be useful in coming up with these proposals, but looking around at the tourism industry in Sri Lanka and in the general development climate in this wonderful (no sarcasm intended) country of ours, it looks in short supply.
Best wishes,
N
Excellent, we musn’t letter environmentalists and other do-gooder hypocrites ruin our chance for development
Hi Asanka,
Well someone has to care for those that don’t have a voice in this world.
Mr. Renton De Alwis,
I applaud all your initiatives, including the idea of a casino in Kalpitiya. I appreciate your forthright and practical approach to casinos, particularly with regards to how they may boost a certain segment of the tourism industry. I see nothing contradictory in this because casinos are, after all, part and parcel of the modern world in which we live.
In the country in which I was brought up, people abhor terrorism and suicide bombings, but no one objects to people having a little fun at a casino. Democracy is the freedom to choose, and you have demonstrated this with your open, inclusive plans for the future.
Congratulation, sir, you are on the right track.
Dear Asanka,
“Your majesty, the birds that glide the skies and animals that roam the forest have an equal right to live and move anywhere in this country as you have. The land belongs to the people and all other living beings. You are only its trustee.”
- Mahinda Thero (not our Mahinda) to King Devanampiya-Tissa, ~250 BCE
In response to N who asked me to visit Tahoe & Vegas… the answer is I have. I also know that the American Indians hold casino concessions in most parts of the USA and they are not touted as being good for them by others. There is so much written about the pros and cons of it. Please please… I have worked and being in advisory capacities to nations ranging from Bhutan (conservatory at the extreme), to Nepal, to Yunnan Province of China, The Mekong Countries, India (with WTTC) and also Macau. I worked for a decade based in Singapore and had seen all developments … the good, the bad and the ugly. The key point I make is ‘Sri Lanka is a gem and we can not afford to have all of its facets impacted by tourism. We can not have resorts and hotels everywhere. The government policy says there will be 2.5 million visitors and 50,000 hotels rooms will be made available by 2016. The objective is to earn US $3 billion in foreign exchange.
What I saying simply is to limit this scale of development to a few areas (resorts and have it well managed) . Kalpitiya, that has already 4,000 acres of acquired land by the government and has the space at the landward end to have an exclusive facility for gaming can meet part of this objective.
I am a conservationist by training and at heart and one who loves and cares for my country very much. I want Sri Lanka to be in tact with minimum negative impact from tourism. I am also a pragmatist and am strategically seeking ways to ensure that it will be so. We need to think macro and not only micro about regions in a romantic way. Think of the impacts of sea level rises as a result of ill-managed causes for global warning can do to low laying areas. Think of what The Maldivian President told his countrymen when he assumed office about looking for alternative land. Also request everyone to ‘STUDY’ the options we have to balance the ‘development’ needs with careful use of our natural resources.
Dear Sanjana Aiye,
Really enjoy “The Interview”, I would have liked some of them to be a bit longer, but the people you have and what your doing is really great ! and I have watched some interesting stuff thanks to Vimeo.
That said, I have one and only one question for you,
Why Sandals ?
KALPITIYA: The Lagoon, The Islands and The Sea at Barefoot on the 21st of May. Click here for details – http://tweetphoto.com/22856057
Dear Renton,
You didn’t address the fact of whether the examples in Tahoe and Vegas have worked in protecting the environment. You are proposing a model that has not worked anywhere else, huge profits and developers simply do not equate sensible land use. Again hiding behind qualifications and experience isn’t really helpful, there are plenty of people with ‘experience’ that I have seen who make bad suggestions and generally screw up.
I’m afraid your talk smacks of greenwash and ignorance. Tying climate change into this is farcical. If the sea levels rise then it is the LANDWARD side that needs conserving as habitats and species need space to migrate to in order to avoid the rising sea levels. Besides for a gambling complex why do you need 2000 acres? You admitted the clientele doesn’t really care what the environment looks like, the abandoned race course in Colombo should provide more than enough space, revitailize a neglected part of the city and keep Kalpitiya safe from the depredations of climate change.
Also I hate to point out the obvious, but Kalpitiya is a peninsula, hence both the landward and the seaward sides will be affected by rising sea levels.
Oh yeah and I forgot, when I said visit Tahoe and Vegas, I should have clarified that you should visit those areas and talk to land use managers there to see the actual affects of the development there.
To N, I visited Tahoe and camped out in the Lake Tahoe for days and explored the area. Visited the University of Nevada. Also ‘saw’ the casino areas. Also am aware of the impact on the American Indians from all of this. That is the problem of the US. Have you all being to Macau, China SR or Genting Highlands, Malaysia? There are models we can look. I said Kalpitiya for it is a peninsular that thopouigh biologically rich and diverse now, we can not save in another 50 -100 years. There are other higher areas we need to keep in tact. And we are only talking here of a part of the whole peninsula and what we can do as an option to ensure we do not damage the rest of the country. These are not superficial stuff we are talking about. Someone mentioned the Racecourse for a gaming centre… with Royal College in front of it? These are real choices we need to make for otherwise we can have the whole of this gem of our island ruined in our search for making 3 billion dollars from tourism with 50,000 hotel rooms and 2.5 million visitors roaming all over the country a year. Think of the impact on our heritage sites that are already taking a beating. Think of all the scenic sites and the biologically sensitive areas.