More visitors, but less money per visitor. At Australia House in Colombo, industry stakeholders asked whether Sri Lanka can turn record arrivals into real value, and what it will take to get there. 

Sri Lanka has never had a problem attracting attention. Its beaches, tea country, wildlife and ancient cities sell themselves. The harder question is whether the country is earning what that attention is worth. 

That question sat at the heart of a candid panel discussion held at Australia House, Colombo, under the theme “Beyond Arrivals: Can Tourism and Hospitality Power Sri Lanka’s Next Growth Phase?” Organised by the Australian High Commission in collaboration with William Angliss Institute, Australia, the session formed part of the “ConnectED” Knowledge Partner Series. 

Moderated by Wayne Crosby of William Angliss Institute, the panel brought together Angeline Ondaatjie – Managing Director Tangerine Tours / Tangerine Group of Hotels; Shiromal Cooray – Chairperson/ Managing Director Jetwing Travels; and Grant Dreher of William Angliss Institute.  

Volume up, value down 

Asked where Sri Lanka truly stands on its journey to becoming a high-value destination, Shiromal Cooray did not soften her answer. “We are just at the beginning,” she said. 

She pointed out that arrivals in 2023 were close to the 2018 peak, yet revenue was significantly lower. The country has grown volume, not value. The goal, she argued, must be visitors who stay longer, spend more, and whose spending is retained and shared within Sri Lanka. 

Part of the problem is perception. Without a sustained marketing strategy, the destination’s story is increasingly being told by backpackers and influencers promoting budget travel. On the ground, a high-paying guest and a budget traveller often receive the same experience at major sites. Even simple spending opportunities, such as quality souvenir outlets at key attractions, are missing. 

Plans on the shelf 

If there was one theme the room returned to, it was execution. Sri Lanka does not lack strategies, Cooray noted; many have been developed with support from partners such as the World Bank. “The trouble is that there is no implementation.” 

She cited a planned destination marketing campaign held up by a long drawn out procurement process, is far too slow for an industry that moves at very high speed. What is needed, she said, is a mechanism to implement the plans that already exist. 

Access is another gap between the promise and the reality. After a long-haul flight, reaching Jaffna or the East Coast remains difficult. Road journeys are long, rail services limited and domestic air travel expensive. Until that changes, visitors will struggle to disperse beyond the familiar circuit. 

Yet Cooray also credited the industry’s resilience. Through repeated setbacks, tourism has bounced back largely through private sector effort. Fix the implementation problem, she suggested, and the sector would be in a far stronger position. 

A level playing field, and “high value for whom?” 

Speaking from the investor’s perspective, Angeline Ondaatjie said the commercial case for Sri Lanka has always been strong because of its unique proposition. The real deterrent is structural. 

The formal sector carries a heavy load of taxes and regulation. A large and growing informal sector, in both accommodation and tours, largely escapes them, and often without consistent safety or quality standards. To build investor confidence, she argued, the rules on regulation and taxation must apply evenly to everyone, within a predictable framework. 

On development, Ondaatjie reframed the debate with a simple question: high value for whom? Development should benefit local communities and protect the country’s core assets: its history, landscapes, wildlife and beaches. “The destination itself is the product,” she reminded the audience. 

She warned that some of that authenticity has already been lost, pointing to the transformation of Slave Island in Colombo and unregulated construction that has eroded Nuwara Eliya’s “Little England” charm. High-rise buildings that could be anywhere, she said, do nothing to make Sri Lanka special. 

From resilience to competitiveness 

Resilience is not the same as long-term competitiveness. Angeline Ondaatjie’s answer centred on protecting the natural assets that bring visitors in, and on building the basics around them. 

Unregulated large-scale construction along coastlines and scenic vistas, she argued, is steadily diminishing Sri Lanka’s long-term value. Existing laws on coastal conservation and building heights, including the well-known “coconut tree rule,” need consistent enforcement rather than new legislation. 

She also turned to everyday infrastructure. Tourism zones need proper connectivity and things to do. Modern, interactive museums could educate and engage visitors while spreading them beyond crowded hotspots. Even basic signage needs attention. 

With a new Tourism Act under discussion, Ondaatjie urged that the formal private sector have a real voice, so that regulation and taxation are fair across the board. She recalled that the Tourism Development Levy began as a private sector initiative to fund marketing. A unified voice from hotels, travel agents and guides alike would carry far more weight. 

Agility, too, should become strategy. When crises struck, regional markets kept Sri Lanka going. Those relationships, she said, should be maintained rather than set aside once traditional European markets return. 

High value starts with people 

Grant Dreher brought an outsider’s eye, and the line of the afternoon. He hoped Sri Lanka would never develop in a way that let him order a club sandwich at midnight in a concrete tunnel. The country, he said, must define high-value tourism on its own terms: its people, its culture and its vistas. 

His central message was that a high-value destination needs a highly skilled, motivated workforce. Sri Lankan hospitality professionals are valued worldwide for their skills and disposition. The risk is that the country becomes a “skills export factory,” training talent only to lose it to markets such as the UAE. 

Too much training, he argued, focuses on entry-level skills. The priority should be clear pathways into supervisory, general management and specialist roles. Capabilities matter as much as skills; the multilingual ability of many Sri Lankans, for example, is a major asset in the industry. 

• To help young Sri Lankans build careers at home, Dreher set out four priorities: 
• Make tourism careers financially competitive, so parents see them as a real future for their children. 
• Turn hospitality from a stopgap job into a respected profession, with visible career progression. 
• Treat overseas work as an investment in experience, and encourage people to bring those skills home. 
• Open more opportunities for women in non-traditional hospitality roles, with role models and clear pathways. 

The panel’s conclusion was clear. Sri Lanka’s next growth phase will not come from chasing arrival numbers. It will come from delivering on existing plans, protecting what makes the island unique, creating a fair environment for investment, and investing in the people who deliver the experience. 

At a time when Sri Lanka’s tourism sector is at a crossroads, conversations like this are exactly what the industry needs.