- MiIththapala advocates focus on sustainability, authenticity and unique experiences for Sri Lanka Tourism.
- A consistent policy and fast action for a unified marketing strategy and slogan that is akin to India’s Incredible India, vital
- Sri Lanka is ideally positioned to offer all the elements in demand, says delivery is key.
Srilal Miththapala is a name synonymous in the Tourism Industry, a veteran whose counsel has been sought on many an occasion by the important Tourism organs of the hierarchy of the country. His experience speaks volumes and his views have been much valued.
Srilal Miththapala was thus fittingly honoured with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award for services rendered to the Tourism industry by the Hotels Association of Sri Lanka, (THASL). The THASL is today the apex body of the entire hotel industry in the country.
It’s membership presently stands at 200 hotels and resorts located in different parts of the country, comprising reputed International hotel brands, leading local hotel chains, proprietorships and stand-alone properties ranging from Colombo 5* city hotels to all other star categories including top end boutique properties.
Miththapala has been a board member of the Sri Lanka Hotel Classification Committee, Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management and the Public Utility Commission Consultative committee (PUCL). He was a founder Director of the Rainforest Eco Lodge Sinharaja, and currently serves on the Board of Laugfs Leisure. He has been a long standing member of THASL and is a past president of THASL.
He has the unique distinction of being perhaps the only person to hold a Fellowship in both the Institute of Hospitality UK and the Institute of Electrical Engineering UK.
Although Srilal Miththapala is a Chartered Electrical Engineer by profession with a first degree in Electrical Engineering and commenced a career at Richard Pieris & Co Arpico factory, as Chief Engineer, it is only when he joined as the Tourism Industry as General Manager of the 190 room resort Riverina Hotel, Beruwala, and climbed the career ladder within the Confifi Group holding several posts in quick succession as Director Operations and Director Business Development, that he realized that he had found his true calling in terms of a vocation.
Miththapala was questioned on other positions held elsewhere and how he reached the zenith in his Tourisim career, but he pauses awhile in his speech and gratefully remembers with much emphasis and mentions that it was late Prof. M T A Furkhan as his mentor, who gave him a break and thrust him into the tourism industry.
There was no turning back for Miththapala who had found his ground and was at Serendib Leisure Management as CEO, perched up in the position for ten years. This followed with a stint at EU-SWITCH ASIA Genting Hotels administered by the Chamber of Commerce as Project Manager at which time he had firmly established himself as an authority on Tourism and found himself invited to numerous lecture presentations, talk shows, discussions on sustainable Tourism in particular, and engaged in the training of industry professionals.
Q. What is your take on Tourism in Sri Lanka in the present context?
A. “Especially after the covid pandemic, requirements of the Tourists have changed. The Covid pandemic has shifted the thinking, even in Tourism”.
“We should not look at mass tourism. But cater to a mix of clients – both the back packers and the Luxury market. Authenticity, environment nature, wellness are the key words today. That’s what is being sought now. Sri Lanka is ideally positioned to offer each one of these elements. We must stay away from counting numbers but look at what the quality is, of the tourism we are offering. Be it a family, small groups, they are looking at smaller number interested in Sri Lankan culture. They can be looking for rustic but need to be authentic. They want the comforts. There are those who are willing to meet the expense.
Q. There are many avenues, opportunities by way of fairs to stage our presence to the global audience, what more needs to be done in your view?
A. Sri Lanka is at an advantage – if we market properly. You need a new narrative, a fresh one and package it differently. A consistent policy and fast action for a unified marketing strategy and slogan that is akin to India’s ‘Incredible India’ is vital.
We need to target high quality tourism for higher value and sustainability. The hotels are also genuinely looking at improving, helping the country and environment. Focus must be on product development and delivery has to change. Not necessarily silver service – but like how a nice smile would convey, authenticity is the word. Sri Lanka is ideally positioned we must quickly get on to the bandwagon- not delay. The private sector can generate this only to a point, Government support is required. Now that we are in the digital age- a lot of the promotions are cost effective.
Pix by Shan Rabukwella
We need to offer unique experiences which reconnects with nature. Sri Lanka is an island that offers a chance to connect with nature. Genuine authentic tourism. Traditionally Sri Lanka is known as a seasonal destination. The East Coast has not been promoted enough in the months of June July and August.
We have beautiful beaches there which have not been sufficiently promoted.
The other area that needs to be addressed is the travel distance, after a long flight from their home country to Sri Lanka, how can they travel by road for so many hours to the East Coast?. This is where domestic flights must be available in those months to cater to the tourists that are being attracted during the so called ‘off season”. Open the East for the off season
We have to create events, in those months, attract the crowd, in the meantime ensure that the products are available to have easy access to air transport etc. We have to improve our inconsistencies.
Domestic flights that go to Pasikuda is a 6 to 8 seater plane. We need more capacity on the flights. Then the price of ticket will come down. There ought to be more landing areas established, clear the path for domestic flights sort out their issues. There ought to be flights that serve a round trip. One must be able to go to Sigiriya, then to Jaffna, to Trinco and return to Colombo.
Q. What are the grey areas still persisting in Tourism we need to rectify for better results?
A. There ought to be a dialogue – a forum where all these tourism related departments in various ministries meet to discuss and find solutions. But all the agencies, govt. entities working in separate ministries and aligned to tourism need to work together, have a dialogue, have a forum where they meet to have that dialogue.
No point harping on the tourist arrivals number – how many can we accommodate and handle?
Until we have discussions with all concerned and find answers. How prepared are we to meet that number?
It is vital to have a committee to centralize these many govt. agencies that work separately, naturally because they belong to diverse ministries
Q. What do you think of the Human Resources in the hospitality trade?
A. We were renowned for our service. But the quality of our services is going down. HR is yet another area that has problems. There has been an exodus of people to the Middle East – we have inadequate qualified staff. We don’t have trained staff. Indeed we have training places but it is yet inadequate. We need more training facilities. The govt. has to take the lead.
Q. Which country should we look to as a example now to follow in Tourism?
A. Vietnam. If we look at for examples, look at Vietnam how greatly they are fairing.
We must have consistent policy. We have too much, too many things at the moment
How many taglines have we had in the past 15 years?
Just to mention a few -; ‘small wonder’, ‘sri lanka like no other’, ‘comeback for more’
One has to only look at the success of India’s Incredible India campaign, look at Singapore Airline’s ‘Singapore girl’. From time immemorial it was known for just that. Focus was on the ‘Singapore girl’.
“Sri Lanka is the only country in the world you can see the blue whale, the largest animal that ever lived and the largest terrestrial animal elephant in a space of just 3 hours. Where in the world do you see these within just 3 hours. One has to only travel to MIrrisse to see the blue whale and from there by road in three hours you get to to Ude walewe to see the elephants.”
These are the type of facts that got to be highlighted. Narrative has to be different.
I have hopes that Sri Lanka would get their act together. But it’s got to be done fast. !
Srilal Miththapala now in his retirement, engages in various consultancy assignments in Sustainable Tourism Development, Environment and WildLife. Apart from many private sector organisations, he has worked on assignments with the MDF and S4IG (the contracting arms of the Australian DFAT program), YouLead (a contracting arm of USAID), UNDP GEF Project, and GiZ Evolvers Project.
He was also a lead tourism specialist at the World Bank scoping mission to study the Buddhist Tourism circuit in India and its potential for development.
At present he is tourism consultant at The Asian Development Bank in Sri Lanka. He has served at the Plymouth University of UK, Business School as a visiting guest lecturer. He also functioned as a lecturer for the Final Year University of Plymouth degree program conducted in Sri Lanka., and has given presentations at on tourism, wildlife and sustainabilitty to a wide range of audiences both local and aborad.
He is an avid wildlife and nature lover, with particular fondness for elephants, and a strong advocate for conservation. He contributes articles and papers on Wildlife, Sustainable Tourism and Environment to various magazines, press and academic publications. He served for one year as Zoological Gardens and Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage Advisor.
Amid his regular tourism work he undertook a research project at the UdaWalawe National Park to study the population dynamics of wild elephants. He was also one of the presenters for the very successful SLTDA Couch Safari streaming wildlife program online, during the COVID lockdown. He has published two books on Sri Lankan Elephants and wildlife.
