Online forum on COVID-19 with Tourism Industry Leaders by Advocata Institute

Published in the Daily News, Lanka Business Online, Business News, Economy Next, the Morning and Travel Voice

Advocata Institute is hosting a panel discussion with tourism industry leaders, Kimarli Fernando (Chairperson, Sri Lanka Tourism), Vipula Gunatilleka (CEO, SriLankan Airlines), Sanath Ukwatte (Chairman, Sri Lanka Hotel Association), Mahen Kariyawasam (President, Sri Lanka Inbound Travel Operators); moderated by Murtaza Jafferjee (Chair, Advocata Institute) on the impact of COVID-19 on Sri Lanka's Tourism Industry. The tourism sector has been hit hard by COVID-19, with international travel into the country slowing down in January and February, even before our airports closed for international arrivals. The World Bank estimates that Sri Lanka’s tourism sector contributes a little over 12% of GDP, and is a major source of local employment. As the tourism sector is also the country’s third-largest source of foreign exchange, the impact of this downturn will be felt throughout the economy. The discussion will cover the current challenges faced by the tourism industry and route to recovery.

The online panel discussion will be hosted on Zoom and live-streamed via Advocata Institute's Facebook Page and other partner channels this Tuesday, 21st of April from 10.30 AM.

Register now: www.advocata.org/events (Limited slots available to join the zoom call)

Send us your questions via slido.com. Event Code: #COVIDLK

Should we privatise State Owned Enterprises?

Advocata Resident Fellow at the Advocata Institute,  Ravi ratnasabapathy appeared on the nationally televised Face the Nation to speak about reforming State Owned Enterprises in Sri Lanka and particularly the fate of the troubled SriLankan Airlines.

Sri Lankan Airlines - The third largest loss making state enterprise

The Sunday Leader quotes Advocata Institute's report on State of State Enterprises:

The learnings from the previous Strategic Planning Exercise of SriLankan Airlines is particularly relevant at present, considering that the airline was the country’s third-largest loss-making State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) from 2006 to 2015 (according to Advocata Institute’s report – The State of State Enterprises in Sri Lanka).

These losses accounted for over a fifth of the total losses of the country’s SOEs (categorized as strategically important by the treasury) from 2006 to 2015, based on the Advocata report.

More on the Sunday Leader

Opinion - Sri Lankan Airlines, sour or to sour?

J. Lorenz writes on Lanka Business Online, about Sri Lankan Airlines:

"Although the government inherited a profitable business in 2008 they successfully managed to run it into the ground due to mismanagement and corruption. The two explanations available are the Jensen and Meckling (1976) theory of ‘principal-agent problem’ and the free-rider problem, both of which concern self-seeking individuals, as discussed at the launch of Advocata Institute at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute earlier this month.

Managers of state owned firms are aware that salaries would be paid regardless of performance of the company hence motivation to perform is taken away thereby embodying the free-rider problem. Further, tax-payers would continue to pump money into failing SOEs whereas a private company would pump their own money into the business risking everything, hence increasing the commitment to perform well. The budget funds given to SOEs in 2014 is equivalent to every household paying 24100 rupees to keep SOEs afloat. This is while around 40% of Sri Lanka’s households earn less than 24000 rupees a month"

Read the entire article on LBO