Care services for elderly tourists will boost industry - Renton de Alwis

Anjana Samarasinghe

CARE SERVICES: According to the United Nations, in 2020 nearly 65% of the world population will be elderly people.

Many insurance companies in the world have introduced life insurance policies and pension schemes to secure people financially when they get older.

Former Tourist Board Chairman and Executive Director of Sustainable Development Consultancy (Pvt) Ltd Renton de Alwis said that there will be a good opportunity for us to develop a local care services industry targeting elderly tourists.

Care services industry is a logical extension of the travel industry . Care Services centres are elderly friendly resorts that consist of medical centres and hotels. The elderly tourists who come to these resorts will stay for long periods of time and their life insurance companies will settle their bills during their stay at the resort. Each tourist will be given a care taker. This will be an ideal opportunity for migrant workers who work as housemaids to work in these resorts to earn foreign exchange without leaving the county.

Each year many women leave the country to work as housemaids and they undergo many problems in those countries. Not only them, their families also face many difficulties due to their absence. The care services industry will be an ideal solution for this, he said.

There are only two or three care services centres in Sri Lanka and this is a potential sector for investors those who are interested in the tourism industry.

'If local investors could invest in this area we could develop the industry like in Florida, Cyprus and Thailand. The favourable weather and a well developed local hospital network will be perfect components for the industry', he said.

Older people fall sick easily and there should be proper emergency services such as transporting which will create additional job opportunities through the industry, he added.

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The United Nation's conference for ageing has stressed that countries should now focus on creating enabling environments for the elderly.

Some adults are productive and others have alert minds though their movements are slow, Renton de Alwis said.

There should be a proper mechanism in the country to make them productive for the country's development. Creating enabling environment for elderly community should commence with the policy making he said.

Public places need to be developed as places where elderly people could easily access facilities. Architects and town planners have a vital role in this process. This should begin from the places such as temples and churches where you could find many elderly people, he said.

The foreign exchange that is gained through the care services industry could be utilised for taking care of our own elderly, he added.