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.