Let’s say you’re due for a holiday in Sri Lanka, and money isn’t an issue to you.

Which airline would you take?

  • Singapore Airlines
  • British Airways
  • Air Lanka (Sri Lankan Airlines)

Which accomodation would you choose?

  • Colombo Hilton (5 stars)
  • Hotel Rendezvous (mid range)
  • Local motel (low end)

Where would you eat?

  • Hard Rock Cafe
  • Hotel room service
  • Roadside hawker in Colombo

Now, ask yourself why you made those choices. Okay just for you to know, majority of Singaporeans would choose SIA, Colombo Hilton and Hard Rock Cafe. Is it really a coincidence?

Well, mostly for safety and security reasons. You might have some other reasons, but that’s besides it. Singaporeans tend to go for things/services that are familliar to them, for example like opting for a local airline or staying in a high-class hotel for comfort and luxury, or eating in a restaurant instead of roadside hawkers for hygiene purposes.

AND dont’t tell me “Air Lanka” = “Air Langgar”, that’s why you think it’s unsafe and opted for SIA. In fact, Sri Lanka Airlines is very much classy now.

But when we opt for such services, who gets the money? Do the Sri Lankans earn from us tourists? Or are we just rolling over our hard earned money back into our own local/Western pool?

How can we then proudly say that Tourism promotes a sense of global community, when in fact it separates us even further? About two decade ago, the Japanese government gave out incentives to Japanese families to GET OUT and travel to foregin countries! Their economy was too rich, so they were sort of trying to “help” other neighbouring economies thru promoting tourism. Through tourism, the goverment hoped that the Japanese would then spend in other foregin countries, thus aiding that particular foregin country.

How does this spread economic wealth around the region? We make bookings through local travel agents, so much so that EVERYTHING is paid and settled beforehand. When the time comes for the holiday, we basically don’t need to spend much more since everything’s pre-arranged.

spend less money in visiting country = business of locals go down = lower earnings, poverty

What irony! We claim to help another country via tourism, but in fact we’re helping them dig their own graves, while smiling.

Ideas sponsored by TC Chang