Community based tourism final report submitted

The Advisory Panel on Community Based Tourism has submitted its Final Report on community based sustainable tourism development in Sri Lanka to Milinda Moragoda Minister of Tourism.

This report identifies two categories of community based tourism projects. First category represents the projects recommended by the advisory panel for implementation. Second category represents the projects reviewed by the panel for future consideration.

The recommendation of the proposed projects for the implementation is primarily based on the principles of community based sustainable tourism development.

In addition, availability of tourism related resources, location-based comparative advantages, marketability of the proposed service/products, time duration for implementation, life duration of the project, size of the budget and components of the budget, self financing of the project at the beginning of the project, economic and financial viability and other important criteria have been considered for this recommendation. Multi ethnic and multi religious community representation has also been accounted.

Finally, the report passionately presents the panel’s policy recommendations for the development of community based tourism in Sri Lanka with the vision that “Stand Together for Rekindling the Flames of Heritage and Pride of Our Communities”.

In order to achieve this vision the committee recommended to introduce a national level awareness programme for all the stakeholders of community based tourism development in Sri Lanka, establish a well coordinated administrative mechanism and organisational setting at national and local level to implement community based tourism projects and programmes, and Develop an informative database for community based tourism that could be accessible for all the stakeholders of the industry such as important national level involvements .

The objectives of sustainable development may not be achieved if a fair share of such benefits are not given to community members who are directly involved in tourism development.

Resources and indigenous skills belonging to these communities should not be undervalued and underutilised. Communities must be given fair and equal opportunities in the decision making process of tourism development.

Community Based Tourism (CBT) fosters the opportunities at community level for local people to participate constructively in such a process.

The potential of CBT to enhance the well-being of community members is tremendous as long as all the stakeholders of the tourism industry stand together and work together for achieving the productive participation of community members in tourism development, the Chairman’s report states.