Sri Lanka
government has already identified “tourism” as a priority sector in its mission
to achieve sustainable economic growth. However, mass tourism has its own
negative impacts such as environmental and socio-cultural degradation. As a
result of increased global awareness on environmental issues, tourists are
increasingly becoming environmentally oriented. In this background, ecotourism
has emerged as an alternative form of tourism that promises to minimize
negative impacts of mass tourism while providing sustainable income to host
communities. In planning and developing a key sector such as ecotourism, it is
vital to assess ecotourism sector’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
threats i.e. conduct a SWOT analysis to gain a broader picture. SWOT analysis
can serve as an excellent tool for policy makers in decision making. The
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for Sri Lanka’s ecotourism
sector are discussed below.
Strengths
·
Natural resource base to support wide array of
ecotourism opportunities/products
§
High
biodiversity: Sri Lanka’s tropical forests possess a high level of
biodiversity with remarkable high proportion of endemic species of flora and fauna.
Sri Lanka has been identified as one of 25 biodiversity hot spots in the
world. Apart from large mammals such as
elephants, leopards and sloth bears, it is an ideal destination for birding, as
well as studying amphibians and reptiles.
§
Wide range
of terrestrial ecosystems: Country’s climate changes widely as you go
inland. This give rise to numerous ecosystems with unique flora and fauna. Sri
Lanka has several forest types including tropical lowland evergreen, dry
monsoon, mountain, sparse and reverie/mangrove forests.
§
Diverse
landscape: varying topography from mountains to flat lands, rivers, and
unique ecosystems provide excellent opportunities for adventure seekers.
§
Aquatic
ecosystems: Sri Lanka has wide range of fresh water, brackish water and marine
ecosystems with high bio diversity. Corel reefs along south-west beach are of
special importance as tourism/ecotourism attractions.
§
Historical
and cultural diversity: Sri Lanka has a rich history and culture influenced
by Buddhism, which spans beyond 2500 years. Numerous ruins linked to ancient
kingdoms are still remaining, attracting thousands of visitors each year. Being
a multi-ethnic country, visitors can experience different cultures as they
travel around the country. Endogenous people/tribes in the country and their
unique culture also provide opportunities for ecotourism.
·
Existing tourist markets
§
Sri Lanka currently has numerous strong tourism
markets. Western European countries (U.K., Germany, France, Italy, and
Netherlands) have been the main markets. Recently, tourist arrivals from Asian
countries such as India, Russia, China and Japan as well as visitors from
Scandinavian countries have also picked up, becoming major markets.
·
Skilled labor force for the hospitality industry
§
Skilled labor force for employment in
hospitality and tourism industry starting from executive management level to
catering/stewards are available domestically at relatively low labor cost.
Education and training is provided mainly through state owned Sri Lanka Institute
of Tourism and Hotel Management, Universities as well as private sector hotel
schools. At present, the supply of skilled labor exceeds the demand; hence
trained professionals often seek employment abroad.
·
Accommodation facilities to meet international standards
§
At present, fully facilitated
accommodations/rooms totals to 14500 rooms. In addition, there are numerous
small scale locally owned guesthouses to accommodate mid and low end tourists.
·
Institutional structure to facilitate the growth
and development of tourism sector including ecotourism
§
At present, the required government
institutional framework is there to support the growth of tourism sector. The
new Tourism Act in 2007 established 4 institutes to handle different aspects of
tourism.
1. The Sri
Lanka Tourism Development Authority: new tourism product, destination, and
market development, planning and policy
2. The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau: marketing and promotion
3. The Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management: Human resource development
4. The Sri Lanka Convention Bureau
2. The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau: marketing and promotion
3. The Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management: Human resource development
4. The Sri Lanka Convention Bureau
Weaknesses
·
Continuous focus on traditional tourism products
§
Despite the wide variety of ecotourism
opportunities in the country, policy makers are still concentrating on
traditional sun and beach mass tourism to gain quick revenues. Despite
lucrative income, mass tourism has its own negative socio-cultural and
environmental impacts. All the recently developed tourism development projects
are focused on beach destinations. Alternative sustainable forms of tourism
such as ecotourism are less prioritized.
·
Inadequate infrastructure to support the growth
of tourism sector as a whole
§
Shortage in accommodation facilities: The
Government has already set its target to attract 1,600,000 tourists per year by
2016. However, current accommodation facilities are not sufficient to host such
tourist inflow since it requires to more than doubling the number of rooms
available at present. Many believe this is an optimistic target under present
economic situation in the country.
§
Congested road traffic and under-maintained road
network
§
Limited service destinations and operation of
national carrier airline service
·
Inadequate infrastructure to support the growth
of tourism sector
§
At present, less attention is given by the authorities
to develop infrastructure at ecotourism destinations in the country. Necessary
infrastructure such as information centers, restrooms, resting areas/huts,
lodging and camping sites are lacking or poorly maintained in some
destinations.
§
Access roots, bridges, bird-watching platforms
etc. need to be developed and maintained.
·
Lack of communication and marketing strategies
to promote different forms of ecotourism products.
·
Inappropriate management of ecotourism
destinations
§
At present, visitor controlling is hardly exist
in most ecotourism destinations. Many destinations easily get overcrowded
especially during holidays with local tourists, causing inconvenience to
tourists with genuine interest to observe wildlife. Overcrowding and increased
traffic inside parks disturb the site as well as flora and fauna.
§
Park entrance fees are placed low and this also
attracts crowd in higher numbers.
·
Absence of onsite interpretation/education
specialists
§
Education/interpretation is a key aspect of
ecotourism. At present there’s a shortage of skilled ecotourism specialists and
competent interpreters at ecotourism destinations. There’s a severe shortage of
such specialists who are capable of communicating in foreign languages.
·
Absence of a national ecotourism policy
§
Although there is a national tourism policy, it
emphasizes less on alternative forms of tourism. Scope and goals of ecotourism
often conflict with the mass tourism. Hence, there’s a need for a national
policy and action plan for ecotourism in Sri Lanka.
Opportunities
·
Opportunities for new markets and tourism
products
§
European travelers are particularly becoming
environmentally aware and conscious of reducing their carbon footprint. For
such traveler markets, ecotourism is an ideal product to capture revenues. The
existing biodiversity rich diverse ecosystems provide numerous opportunities
for ecotourism development.
§
Opportunities exist in dense rainforests to
develop canopy walks. These can attract adventure seeking ecotourists.
·
Opportunities for low cost accommodation
§
Alternative tourism products such as ecotourism
typically targets tourists who are more demanding for nature and less demanding
for facilities. They can be accommodated in small-scale eco-lodges. These
alternative tourism forms can help attract more visitors while requiring lesser
need to develop costly accommodation facilities. Therefore, ecotourism is an
ideal opportunity to achieve the Government’s target of bringing in an annual
tourist flow of 1,600,000 by the year 2016.
·
Improving security and economy in the country
·
With the eradication of terrorism from north and
east part of the country, new opportunities for foreign and domestic tourism
have emerged. National parks which were closed for public are now opened,
creating new opportunities for ecotourism.
·
Opportunities in developing effective marketing
and promotion plans
·
Effective marketing and promotion programs can
be launched especially using internet and modern technology to reach new and
existing markets
·
Research and development
·
At present, there are formal institutes
including universities that particularly can conduct studies on ecotourism
sector. Most tourism studies are conducted on economic impacts of tourism.
Research should more focus on new markets, alternative forms of tourism, demand
and supply, behavior and policy.
Threats
·
Under-developed infrastructure: road and
accommodation facilities to meet the rising demand
·
Environmental and socio-cultural degradation due
to mass tourism since ecotourism is likely to be undertaken passively as a part
of multi-purpose trip/tour package.
·
Lack of diversification in tourism products
·
Foreign exchange leakages occur in mass tourism.
In ecotourism, local materials are used for constructions and local cuisines
are commonly served at eco-lodges, which minimize the revenue leakage.
·
Competition from other ecotourism destinations
in south-east Asia such as India, Philippines, Malaysia, Fiji, Thailand.
