Jaffna wants to tap into tourism boom

* Officials sign agreement for increased domestic tourists but want upgraded facilities for foreign travellers

By Shabiya Ali Ahlam

Jaffna tourism officials are eyeing a boost of local tourists but insist key development measures need to take place before the north can tap into the lucrative foreign traveller boom in other regions of Sri Lanka.

In an effort increase the flow of domestic tourists into the region the Northern Province Tourism Association (NPTA) last week signed an agreement with Lanka Travel Eye. The venture aims at promoting though its website Jaffna and the experiences it has to offer, the association is confident the number of visitors and revisits will increase.

With the war having ended NPTA President T. Thilagaraj pointed there is huge potential to attract locals into the region as they are curious to visit the region that had been restricted to them for about three decades.

Highlighting the lack of development in Jaffna in making it attractive for foreign travellers, Thilagaraj said the region has seen very little progress in promoting it as a tourism destination and the essentials elements are yet to be established.

“Jaffna has received less focus. Although the Government aims at making Sri Lanka a tourism hub Jaffna has not received much support. There is not even an office or a Government representative to look at tourism related activities. When we ask them for guidance and support, we are told to wait,” Thilagaraj told the Daily FT.
He stressed the need of further developing the infrastructure to allow tourists to have easy access to that region. Although the road network is complete and train services will soon be extended from Pallai to Jaffna, Thilagaraj said it is imperative to introduce air transport.

Noting it will be the preferred mode of transport to Jaffna, he said: “Foreign travellers require such facilities. In the current scenario, a two way trip to Jaffna by road costs approximately Rs. 28,000 and a flight to Singapore costs Rs. 36,000. This shows that travel to Jaffna in expensive. To Trincomalee and back it would cost about Rs. 4,000 and to Hambantota it is around Rs. 3,000. We need to make Jaffna seem attractive and affordable.”

Thilagaraj also drew attention to the lack of star class accommodation and skilled workforce to service the hotel sector. According to him there are only a handful of hotels of the required standards and it is imperative for the Government to focus on bringing in investors so more hotels are put up as well as training of support staff for the ventures.

With regard to the lack of skilled workforce available to service the hotel sector, he stressed the need of opening a hotel school in the region.
“There are enough people to work and they are on the search for jobs. Having a hotel school will ensure there is a continuous supply of a trained workforce to service the hotels. This will not only help tourism but will help in increasing the economic development in Jaffna,” he said.
Thilagaraj noted that although Jaffna was severely affected by the war for 30 years, the city is still of interest to tourists for its temples, islands and beautiful landscapes.

“Jaffna has a greater potential to attract tourists than any other region of the country, but we see less interest from the Government for that. We are not seeing much happening in that region. We hope it will receive some emphasis in the future,” expressed Thilagaraj.

http://www.ft.lk/2014/08/27/jaffna-wants-to-tap-into-tourism-boom/