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Wednesday, 25 January 2012

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'Travellers contribute to economic growth'

Members of the business community and experts on reconciliation presented "Role of Business Community in Reconciliation" yesterday at Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for international Relations.

Presentations were made by ten eminent persons from the business community and experts in reconciliation: the keynote Address - "Role of Business Community in Reconciliation" was presented by Ajith Nivard Cabraal (Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka), "A Nation Moves On: The Pathways to Reconciliation" by prof. Rohan Gunaratna (Head, International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research - Singapore), "Ease of Doing Business in the North and East" by Ms. Emelda Sukumar (Government Agent - Jaffna), "Creating Harmony through Business" by Deivanayagam Easuwaren (Chairman, Easwaren Broghers Exports Pvt. Ltd.), "Possible National Reconciliation through the Tourism Industry" by Anura Lokuhetty (President, Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka), "Creatign Opportunities for Youth in the North and East through Vocational Training Initiatives in the Hotel Industry" by Mr. Sanath Ukwatte (Chairman, Mount Lavinia Hotel), "Supporting and Empowering Livelihood Development at Grassroots Level" by Waruna Madawanarachchi (Director, CIC Agri Business Ltd.), "Empowering Communities through Small Scale Industry" by Ms. Linda Speldewinde (Managing Director, Academy of Design Colombo) "role of ICT/BPO in reconciliation" by Mano Sekaram (CEO, 99x Technology and Secretary General SLASSCOM / Chairman, Advisory Committee on ICT Export - EDB), and "promoting Micro-lending in the North and East" by Brindley de Zylva (Managing Director / CEO, Lanka Orix Finance PLC).

New England overcame "Travellers encounter new experiences, gain knowledge of other cultures, regions and countries, discover the importance of caring for the environment, develop new friendships and in the process, promote peaceful relations among people. Travellers also contribute to the economic growth and development of a community and a region when they spend to obtain a variety of needs said President Hotels Association of Sri Lanka, Anura Lokuhetty.

He said that Economic development, especially when the development aids in poverty reduction in the local community, helps to promote a culture of peace. Today Sri Lanka is enjoying the fruits of peace after long years of civil conflict which brought suffering and misery to its people. The defeat of terrorism has brought about a national and economic revival amongst all its communities, leaving the responsibility of reconstruction, re-building,reassuring and re-establishing harmony in political, economical and social sectors among the people in the North and the East in particular, doing away with the distrust among all communities to build bridges of Trust,Understanding and brotherliness. Tourism is when people choose to travel from one location to another for holiday or on sightseeing. Internal tourism is to visit family, friends,for the purpose of play, study, work, business, pilgrimage and or service. Tourist destinations, such as beaches parks, recreation centres, museums,resorts and hiking trails, can be located within walking distance from one's home or across the ocean.

Whether one travels many miles or a short distance , or whether one travels alone, or with family members, with friends, colleagues or even strangers, travel generally entails encounters and interactions with peoples of different ages, ethnic backgrounds,cultural heritages, spiritual traditions, different ability and educational levels, and interests. Tourism helps in creating a culture of peace in a number of other ways.

People engaged in tourism and hospitality; seek to provide a welcoming experience for travellers, very much similar to the peace making activities experienced within a family; such as offering information, food, shelter,comfort and relaxation. People within the tourism industry may also work together within and across regions to establish policies that lead to the abolition of armed conflicts, violence and warfare; promote ecological sustainability; and assure the welfare of all members of the local and global communities. "The strengths of tourism or attributes that helps in bringing people together in non-adversarial circumstances include the extent to which tourism has been adopted by individuals as a leisure activity and the development of visitor destinations throughout the country."

However, it must also be noted that the scope and depth of tourism can be considered a strengths only insofar as they contribute to the goal of a

more harmonious environment. There are widely recognized advantages pertaining to national reconciliation through tourism proposition.

He said that Tourism can contribute to economic development and poverty reduction. "The tourism supply chain has a high capacity to support and complement other economic activities, such as traditional agriculture, fisheries, transport and handicraft and the industry is a high labour-intensive sector creating many opportunities for youth and women. "Tourism is a sector where entry barriers for small and medium enterprises can be low, facilitating involvement in lower income earners," he added.

Tourism can also contribute to national reconciliation in so many other ways as well." Reducing poverty by hiring people from local communities, paying just wages and supporting the development of local and micro- business that contribute to and benefit from the tourism industry; 'Tourism can eliminating conditions that lead to acts of armed conflict, violence, terrorism and warfare, providing training in conflict resolution and non-violence, and working with government and community groups to restore areas damaged by warfare."One of the Worlds's leading and trusted travel magazine in the UK "Conde Nast Traveller" has nominated Sri Lanka as one of the top five destinations to watch in 2012.

This achievement is certainly a boost for Sri Lanka Tourism which is targeting a 2.5 million tourists by 2016.On the way to reaching 2.5 Million tourists by 2016 there will be employment opportunities created for at least 500,000. "This will create a huge employment opportunity in this industry enabling the country to reach its full employment status".

"The additional 350,000 jobs that will be created by the industry will give employment opportunities right across the country including the North and the East where some of the best beaches in the country are located.". "Improvement of the people's financial status will boost up the domestic tourism resulting in more movement of people visiting from North to the South, South to the North or East and to the West vice versa.

This will help to build up a unified population of Sri Lankans in the new post war environment. In this environment people will earn to respect different religions and cultures, contributing to our dream of a unified population in unified Sri Lanka. We have much to learn by what we have gone through and what we intend to achieve. In this endeavour, it is desirable to use tourism as a vector for national reconciliation he said in conclusion." SS

 

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