Dhananath Fernando  00:02
Hello, hello everyone! Ibuan and welcome to our podcast. Today we are going to discuss about the future of women in Sri Lanka's tourism industry, and this podcast is brought to you in collaboration with Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance. And today my guest is mr. Malik Fernando, who is the chairman of Resplendent Ceylon and the chairman of also Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance. Malik, welcome to our show.

Speaker 1  00:30
Thank you, Dara. Lovely to be here.

Dhananath Fernando  00:32
Thank you very much for joining us. First of all, just wanted to know on news, it's all about tourism and the rebounding, successful rebounding story of Sri Lanka tourism. You are in this industry on both fronts. What's the sentiment? How is it actually? How is it actually doing?

Speaker 1  00:50
I mean, it's coming back very strongly. Sri Lanka has always been an in-demand bucket list country, but travellers have been nervous with you know with the setbacks we've had and the lack of communication and all of that. Now, for the last two years, with the stability and you know positive signals, they're coming back. There's a lot more, in my view, that we should be doing to get more of the right kind of traveller. But it's significantly better than it was a year ago. So year on year, we're seeing good growth.

Dhananath Fernando  01:18
Excellent, Malik. Now, when it comes to the growth agenda of Sri Lanka, that tourism has been identified by everyone as a low-hanging fruit. Not much done, but not not much of not much done, but identified as a low-hanging fruit. At the same time, it is also the women, female labour force or female labour force participation has been brought out as a key need, if we really need to see the growth, and we have found out that the Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance had done work on how can we actually attract more women into the tourism sector. Could you elaborate a bit more. What's the role of Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance on getting women on? Yes, I mean this

Speaker 1  02:05
is one of the programmes we do. I mean the alliance was set up in 2019, soon after the Easter attacks, by a group of us who wanted to communicate better that Sri Lanka was safe, that it was open, because our communication in tourism generally has been weak now for several decades. So that was the main objective, but we also focus on sustainable development to avoid over tourism, as well as you know other weaknesses in the sector such as the high turnover. A lot of our workers in the hotel industry travelling to the Middle East, travelling to the Maldives because they get better paid. You know, hotels charge Premium prices. So one way of filling that sort of lacuna and that high turnover is by getting more of the women in the workforce. Simply because right now less than 10% of the workforce are women.

Dhananath Fernando  02:55
Is it that low? It's as low as

Speaker 1  02:57
10. As much as 40% of those who do academic qualifications are women, but then they don't pursue careers in the industry for a few reasons, which I'm sure we'll discuss. But if you look at Europe and other countries, it's as much as 50 or 60% of the female participation. So housekeeping, for example, if you're in a hotel in Europe, chances are that is a lady. Here, it's you know almost entirely guaranteed to be a male, so there are these opportunities that we've identified, and we've partnered with MDF to try and communicate that better and to attract a more balanced, better gender balance in the industry.

Dhananath Fernando  03:34
What activities like do you do? Someone who is watching, like how how it translates into getting more women into the tourism sector. Like what activity that is taking place, programmes. See,

Speaker 1  03:48
what we did was in 23 together with MDF. There was a study that we did. We polled about 1200 women in different parts of the country, focus groups, interviews, and there were some interesting findings. A lot of women weren't aware of the opportunities. They were not job hunting in a systematic manner. There was also stigma, not knowing what kind of conditions hotel hotels offered, because you know there were obviously you know lack of awareness of of the facilities and the safety. Another interesting point was that a lot of women in the rural areas relied on a referral by a member of the family or the the male leader of the family to say why don't you go and work here or there. So for these reasons, women were not looking at tourism as a first area they go into. A few other industries, apparel, ICT, and so on, were better pitching themselves to women. But if you look at tourism, if you honestly look at the incomes, it's not just the salary; it's also the service charge. It's pretty. It's a pretty rewarding area to work in. So we found that there. Was a lack of awareness,

Dhananath Fernando  05:01
right?

Speaker 1  05:01
So some of the programmes and this particular programme that that we're doing with MDF is all about building awareness through a digital marketing campaign, where we will take certain role models and we would ask them to explain their careers as women, how they enter the industry, what their experiences are, because you know that's that's a good reference point. So it's very much a communication campaign online to kind of open women's eyes to the opportunities in tourism because there is a shortage and the shortage is going to get worse.

Dhananath Fernando  05:37
Additionally to that communications gap, Malik, there's a referral point that they probably refer in the village, and there are some stigma you mentioned. Any other barriers that you see why women is reluctant? Because you said it's low as 10.

Speaker 1  05:53
Yeah. Also, language they may feel a bit uncomfortable, but a lot of hotels now do language classes.

Dhananath Fernando  06:00
Is it okay?

Speaker 1  06:00
You know, basic hotel tourism, English language is one. So lack of education, you know, bit nervous. Then also those who did join after marriage, you know, they go back to their village. So it was all because there was a lack, in my view, of a focus on what a successful, safe, productive career for a woman in tourism would be like. So that's what we're doing through this campaign to highlight several real-life case studies across multiple segments. You know, when you think you're working in a hotel, you might think I'm a waiter or a steward, but there are so many other types of roles. You know, naturalists, interpreters. You know, front office, managerial, and you know, sustainability. So this campaign that the alliance is driving, you know, funded by MDF, is simply to highlight what Amazing careers for women exist in tourism.

Dhananath Fernando  07:06
One area that Advocata has been highlighting is on the labour regulation front, because how we saw it was on flexible work hours, and sometimes you have different labour codes for different sectors of even when you look at a hotel, the the the waiters or the stewards schedule or the roster would be completely different from someone who is doing digital marketing or admin work. Now, has it been identified as a barrier, or even at a focus group discussion or a secondary level data analysis? Whether has it come as a as a concern or anything that can be done on that front? Yeah, I

Speaker 1  07:44
mean, women in tourism in terms of their working hours, in terms of working hours and so on.

Dhananath Fernando  07:49
Correct.

Speaker 1  07:49
There was some restrictions, but these were lifted recently. So there is some progress on that front, where they couldn't work overnight, they couldn't work after 10 p.m. and so on. So all that's being addressed. If if you're working in a in a restaurant outlet or something, you might have to be up till 11. So those barriers are being cleaned out. But it's primarily perception of the women, and more importantly, their families and other complaints. Yeah, you know, simply thinking. You know, that's not a place for a woman to be because they don't know the kind of hotels that are operating now in Sri Lanka. You know, they they may get biassed looking at a few, you know, looking at the wrong kind of segment. But if you look at the formal hotel segment, working conditions, safety, you know, the care and concern that management has for women and for all their staff, for that matter, in order to deliver exceptional guest services, it's a very safe place for women.

Dhananath Fernando  08:49
So, what sort of a investment that is required actually if you were to increase the women participation, and in which avenues, whether it's it in language training or whether it's on communications, or what actually has to be done, and where the investment should move on. So,

Speaker 1  09:04
if you look at okay, the lesser investment is like what we're doing now is marketing and positioning and getting the message across. Then the different hotel companies, employers, you know, open days, creating you know separate dormitories for women. In many cases, that wasn't there because for the longest time it was just one accommodation block. So you need to create separate facilities for women. You need to get you know women staff matrons managing that, and it's really that that's it. And the rest of it is uplifting your English language skills and and training, which you offer to both genders. So it's the biggest single investment I would think would be to have safe, secure, separated facilities for women, but that's an investment worth making given the fact that you know obviously you're going to have a broader pool to choose from and there'll be less turnover.

Dhananath Fernando  09:56
And you also mentioned when you say hotels, there are different. Categories of hotels, and you are the chairman of Resplendent Ceylon, which is a more boutique hotel category. If I define it right, on as a non-tourism person, so how that category can actually attract women, and what are the opportunities that they have, or anything that you have done uniquely better to attract women compared to, if I were to call other sectors.

Speaker 1  10:25
Yeah, I mean I think if you look at the hotels, the more boutique, smaller properties, and this isn't a standardised thing, but you're looking at their smaller scale, so there's more the management from the GM downwards would basically be able to have more time to to look after team members and so on. If you look at bigger properties for women, I'm saying they might feel you know a little bit lost, you know, when there's several hundreds or 1000s of people working there, so I think as women coming into tourism, smaller properties can, and I'm not canvassing for more women to come to my properties per se, but this is the finding that they feel more comfortable because everyone knows each other. It's a small, almost village-style environment rather than a bigger industrial type property, but so I think that's a good way of starting. But you know, the bigger properties as well offer many of them offer excellent facilities and have as much of a need for gender balance. But the finding did show that a smaller environment more was add more of a sense of security, but basically across the tourism sector, across the hotel segments, there are very safe working conditions for women.

Dhananath Fernando  11:53
Manik, in the boutique category, generally hospitality there's a sentiment that women could deliver it better. Maybe they are more pleasant, and they can really speak to the brain or the heart of the people, and you are more hospitable in that environment. Is it a key requirement in the? I'm sure it's across the board, but when it comes to the boutique, very exclusive category, how does it reflect? And any success stories that comes to your mind. How really interacting or having more women in your workforce? How really? I mean, any case studies that it has really transformed or really made you think? No, this is why we need to have more women. Additionally to all that statistics, all research work, but real case, you know, role model scenarios. Yeah, speaks. No, there are real,

Speaker 1  12:46
you know, real life models that are. For example, in a in a in a smaller property, generally the team members of both genders have more face to face interaction with the guests. Right. Bigger properties, you know, you'll have buffets, guests. It's more of a self-service kind of environment where you would have the the scale is obviously much larger. But in a more intimate boutique setting, all team members are encouraged to interact closely with guests. So it means that we've had examples of of ladies who are very personable, very chatty, you know, smile broadly, and who interact with guests over breakfast, over lunch, and and and so on. So, also, I think for from a tourist point of view, as a strategic advantage for Sri Lanka, when guests come here, they are disappointed, surprised, taken aback by the fact that there are so many male staff and there doesn't appear to be balance. So, lot of lady travellers, you know, wives or single female travellers have fed back to us that they feel a bit awkward, that they're surrounded by men, so to speak, and you know, normally you're accustomed to a more of a balance in other parts of the world. So I think for our tourism product to have more females in the workforce is is a very strong incentive for for guest satisfaction and retention. After all, when you go out into the local village, it's it's women who are in charge, you might say, or who are kind of dominant and very much smiling, and you know is providing some kind of a experience, activity kind of service, whether they're you know making some sweet meats or or whatever. So, but when you're back in the hotel, it's a bit unusual that again you go back into a male preserve when it comes to staff members. So, having more of a gender balance, I think, is is very important for the growth of Sri Lanka tourism.

Dhananath Fernando  14:50
That's that's a very interesting insight. Also, wanted to understand now when you think of attracting more women into the tourism sector. Also, you touched upon it having female dormitories and all that, but also it comes like how you provide the family assistance because that comes with the need for childcare and their family care and rest of other issues that generally women has to take responsibility at their family life. So, as a boutique hotel or as a sector, what assistance or support that they can get by joining the workforce in the tourism sector or in the category of boutique hotels? What mechanism or ecosystem support system that you have, and what how competitive it is also with the rest of the the other industries, because all the industries are you know fighting pretty much or competing to the same workforce, and with the census statistics latest results, we have kind of an ageing population, so it becomes more and more competitive. What what ecosystem that that the boutique hotels and the sector has basically?

Speaker 1  16:00
Yeah, I mean, HR policies, people and culture are very progressive in tourism. It has to be because you need to retain your workforce because there are so many job opportunities in the region, as I mentioned. Also, in order to deliver exceptional services, unlike other industries, someone could come in very unhappy and do what they have to do and leave, but in tourism, if if that member of the team are not isn't happy, isn't motivated, then you will see that in terms of the service they deliver. So it's important that you have have to have a very contented workforce in order to have contented guests. So that's the first thing in terms of the progressive HR policies in in the hotel segment, generally, in in terms of again because they're progressive for childcare, if extended leave, and you know to do sabbaticals, there's a lot of flexibility involved. So I think companies are very flexible in that regard. I don't think if you're full-time mothering, running crushers, and all of that is isn't practical because you you can't be both things at the same time. But women, prior to them having kids, is a great opportunity. Then, if they have kids, they can go and they can, you know, when the kids are slightly older and there's a grandparent looking after them, they can come back, and so all those opportunities are there, leave policies and so on. If if if if you're a mother, at a certain point you've got a good support network, which means that unlike maybe in the West where you're kind of a single carer, you've got that network to fall back on, which means you can work, you can earn a good income, you can get that job satisfaction, and then you've got others to help you carry the load at least for certain periods. So I think that's one advantage Sri Lanka has, which can help you know increase female participation because you've got something to fall back on that whole social network. So I would simply say that our study and the communication programme that we've embarked on feature ladies who've sort of starred in different segments of the tourism industry who are extremely happy with with the services offered and how comfortable they're made to feel. So we need to communicate that broadly to all the women out there who are sceptical or who are not aware of you know the genuinely positive conditions for women in in tourism.

Dhananath Fernando  18:31
So that's a that's a thought that I really didn't think about because tourism sector, unlike other sectors, actually if your employees are not happy, which will really reflect at the sales end, and that will also have an impact on spending because basically your you know your staff is basically convincing you to you know try out there you are there your

Speaker 1  18:50
ambassadors right

Dhananath Fernando  18:51
exactly

Speaker 1  18:52
so they interact so we can provide the best ever hardware we can provide the best ever systems, but you know where the tire hits the road or the rubber hits the road is where the member of staff interacts with the guests, and people who come here love long conversations. You know, they're relaxed, they like to chill, and they like to talk to a member of staff about where they're from, their background, and about Sri Lanka. And I believe that when you've got a mix of men and women on the team talking to guests, it just senses because that that's how the world is. You don't have a situation where you're just surrounded by one gender or the other. Another aspect is in terms of attracting people to the industry. I don't think any other industry provides accommodation, food, the level of comfort that the tourism industry provides, as well as the packages with service charge, so the complete revenue of the property, 10% of that goes to staff, and then is distributed equally from the general manager down to the gardener. So it's a very rewarding occupation. So it just needs the message needs to get out there. So it's just this perception which is wrong.

Dhananath Fernando  19:59
So Malik. Someone who is watching this conversation, if they really want to read about the future and you know why they should join tourism industry, maybe a family member as a referral or a father who is considering his daughter to consider tourism sector as a career or a female who is basically looking for a job opportunity, as you mentioned, or to advise a friend? Any resources that they can go and read about it? Yes. Any material available?

Speaker 1  20:30
Yes. So the Tourism Alliance website, Sri LankaTourismalliance.org, it's got a tonne of training materials focusing on women in tourism, case studies, and this was done 345, years ago, and we're going to be enhancing it now. There's also jobs portal where you can go in and look at jobs which we consider are ideal for a female candidate. So all of the the marketing and the digital promotion will redirect back to a website where you'll have a series of learning tools, videos, as well as jobs. I mean, that's the best bit of conversion, right? Because the research report identified that a lot of people weren't aware of the opportunities. You know, a lot of female candidates are still looking at at the newspaper just to see, and you know, you you don't advertise for people that way, so they can go, they can understand what kind of roles are available, and they can immediately apply.

Dhananath Fernando  21:23
Also, you mentioned that the programme of Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance is also in partnership with MDF. Could you also explain a little bit about MDF and how do they really support, and what's their role in this? So MDF is

Speaker 1  21:40
market development facility. It's a it's a programme funded by the Australian government, and we've had a great relationship with them from as far back as 2019. And they look at so many segments. Tourism is a key area. They're looking at a couple of other industries, and they do a lot of progressive work in working through the Tourism Alliance. They work with the government as well, and looking at economic upliftment to help our high potential industries prosper.

Dhananath Fernando  22:12
Malik, also now when a when a guest basically visits a hotel, they also look for some authentic experiences. As you mentioned, you see a lady, you know, cooking some sweet meats, and there'll be some authentic recipes, maybe which is very unique to that locality. Could you speak also because sometimes you are not very sure that they are actually full-time team members, or whether they are like just coming to do like a basic service? Are there any ways or mechanisms that even you engage with these local authentic experiences, also more female-driven. Any options? Any any case studies or any ecosystem that you would like to highlight? Yeah,

Speaker 1  22:53
you see, I think tourism. Just looking at the macro picture, tourism is the biggest potential for this country. You know, we're not going to be an industrial power. Cost of making anything is too high. But if you look at tourism, it has really uplifted the bottom of the pyramid since you know since the conflict ended. So tourism is very much rural, unlike many other industries. You're looking at tourism in isolated parts of the country where it's next to a village in the local community, so it's it's a way of uplifting the village, and so you there has to be benefits for the local community not only in terms of supply of you know with these fish or vegetables or tuk tuk drivers or family or whatever, but also you know, upskilling, training, you know, livelihood enhancement for the women, which many hotels do, and also for guests to engage in those uniquely local experiences. I mean, you could have a female naturalist naturalist leading a game drive into national park or trekking across the Pico Trail, for example. There's been so many programmes where 20, 3040, guides funded by some progressive travel agencies overseas have trained female guides who who live in that local area, you know, maybe you know they've retired from from from the tea fields, and that's something which travellers genuinely like because it it it is something which many other destinations don't offer, many other urban destinations because when you come to Sri Lanka, a lot of our tourism is related to biodiversity, nature, rural areas. Here, people do a journey; they go to three or four different parts. They don't just go to a big. In many other countries in Southeast Asia, a hotel means you go to a 30-acre campus, a gated campus, and. No one outside is allowed to come in. Here, it's very different. It's it's a very nice model where you're in the middle of the village. It can be annoying. It can be problematic at times if you're having an argument with the local tuk-tuk driver. But the point is that hotels here, outside the urban areas, have amazing opportunity to engage with the local community, and doing that through female employees or uplifting females in in the in the village to you know whether it's you know artists coming in or someone making sweetmeats or doing handicrafts and all that so that's something which many hotels are doing and should be encouraged.

Dhananath Fernando  25:42
Malik also just want to understand, given the distribution of those hotels and boutique hotels in Sri Lanka, generally, what's the trend like when female team member joins the the hotel? Is it from this pretty much majority is from the same locality, or because of the stigma that you spoke about, generally people are looking forward. You know, pretty much migrate far from their village, or like join another hotel at a distant location. How is the basic trend?

Speaker 1  26:13
Depends on the opportunities. Now, in in the report that we did, we found that the northwest, central, and over province females were more open to opportunities. So, if you look at the central province, for example, you don't have a huge number of hotels, but you've got you know ladies who can walk from their village to the hotel. So that's that's a beautiful model, and you generally from the local area, not the immediate area, because sometimes hotels may not hire from the very you know environments, but they might look 1015, 20 kilometres away. That's a good model. If if the employee can go home, can come in the daytime when they're off, they can go back home, look after their kids, look after their parents or whatever. So I would say that Male members travel much further. Female members are mainly in the local area, and that model works well.

Dhananath Fernando  27:09
Also, since we spoke about stigma and also the referral points through this communication campaign and with the activities of of your organisation and with in partnership with MDF, what else is planned additional to the communication campaign? Anything else that is working around basically to attract more women into the so this is a

Speaker 1  27:34
six month campaign right and it's a fairly significant one. So that is the focus right now. After that, we would do a fresh study to get a sense, research to get a sense of how effective it has been, and then we plan something else. But we've done over the last few years different programmes, including funding certain you know placing women to apply to us for specific roles with certain hotels and subsidising again we don't support at certain hotels and lodges, mainly small and medium enterprises. So we will look at those additional sort of activations. But the current phase is very much communication because we've understood from the study that the perception is the problem. If we can fix that perception or help fix a perception, there are so many hotels around the country who've got excellent facilities and are, you know, very keen to attract and take care of, you know, female employees. So it's the perception stage is where we're right now, which has the it's that's a key leverage point.

Dhananath Fernando  28:36
Malik, when you say communications, since Sri Lanka is also, you know, in a conversation about a global tourism campaign, I just wanted to focus on this one. Like, what pieces, or like, how are you planning, or how is it executing, or rolling out it at the moment? Are you using any influencers, or how basically this message? Because ultimately, it should hits the rural area. So you know, the the potential people who are maybe not aware, or who have a bad image, or some different image, or no perception at all, should consider joining the labour force. So, how is it rolling out as a communications campaign? Any information that you would like to provide? So,

Speaker 1  29:15
in this campaign, we will basically feature about 10 or 15 role models,

Dhananath Fernando  29:21
right?

Speaker 1  29:22
And we will have a series of of programmes mainly through Facebook and digital ads. It'll obviously be in Singa and Tamil, and the idea is that you you target females who are online on certain channels, looking at certain groups and to get you know series of graphics and ads and just for them to see my goodness this particular person this is her background and look you know this is this is what she's doing this is what she's earning and this is her her testimony so this this is a very straightforward it's not like the global promoter. Campaign. This is far more straightforward, and this is something that we're executing pretty rapidly.

Dhananath Fernando  30:05
Excellent. It'll be it'll

Speaker 1  30:06
be finished in the next six months.

Dhananath Fernando  30:07
Excellent. And also, since you mentioned that mainly the referral point is a male in the family, when someone considers it's helpful, yeah, it's helpful. So any any any strategy that you're thinking of, basically engaging, so we'll be we'll be

Speaker 1  30:22
targeting the males as well.

Dhananath Fernando  30:23
Okay,

Speaker 1  30:23
we'll be targeting the broad community, and I mean there'll be targeting criteria that's been worked out. We are now at the stage of of doing the video shooting, which will take probably about a month, and the whole idea is you you hit all of the buttons that the research told us that we should target perceptions by men just just to kind of clear people's minds that these are the genuine conditions that are offered, and this is what you're missing out on because many of these ladies are unemployed or underemployed. It's not like you're asking them to switch; they're looking for jobs, but they are not considering the tourism industry.

Dhananath Fernando  30:59
Absolutely. Also, now when it comes to the global positioning, this inclusivity providing them the opportunity, how does it actually reflect on the global positioning, especially with the clientele that you attract? Is it a concern? You basically broadly mentioned that it's a concern that you know they would like to have more women and female I mean combination when they are guests because even we can see it in the corporate boards they question about like what's the female representation in your organisation even in the labour force does it really help on to really you know getting into the ranks of as a global tourism brand, is it also an indication of like a concept like safety, where even the solo travellers would like to, especially the solo female travellers would like to like travel upon? How does it really reflect to the outside world? Because it's all about you know taking the brand globally.

Speaker 1  31:58
Yeah, I mean Sri Lanka is well known for being safe for solo female travellers. So you see so many cases of of there was a recent study where of top 10 countries in terms of safety, it was only Sri Lanka and Japan that were in the top 10. So the general perception, and you see that a lot when you look on Instagram. There's like a group of girls or one lady who's travelling on her own, because we're generally very respectful of travellers, and so that that that's already working well. Having more females in employment in a hotel where you're staying is very important for female guests. Otherwise, they feel a bit uncomfortable. So it's not going to help us go up the rankings, but it's going to help in terms of the general feel of the holiday and the level of comfort and the level of satisfaction they've had. So it is it is very important, and also it provides, in my view, very balanced. It's real life, so even in the hotel, having a gender balance is is very helpful in terms of the climate, the culture, you know, the way people approach issues, and general staff turnover retention, as I mentioned. So it improves our product significantly.

Dhananath Fernando  33:18
Also, Malik. Now I have come across certain cases and different industries that certain jobs are perceived as only can be done by men, and certain industries have really challenged that mindset. For an example, working in a garage, there are cases that certain brands really try to bring women and show no, even if you are a female tube driver, there was an option provided that when you go to a garage, that it will be serviced and repaired by a female member. So, are there any cases? Because also hotel is a quite a complicated operation, as you mentioned. There are multiple aspects on maintenance, admin, room service, laundry. To there are so many aspects. Marketing, HR. Are there any job rules that really, over a period of time, challenged and really you are looking at like no women can actually do a better job, or whether they are really would like to challenge the status quo and transform. Are there any cases or anything that the industry is actually looking for, or any investment has been done really on? I mean, I

Speaker 1  34:33
think okay, I think women generally can do an excellent job, maybe a better job than the men across the board. There are certain segments that may be difficult, you know, working hours again. If you've got commitments, family commitments, and so on, and again, the stigma at you know at the back of your mind, you might think, you know, who does what does my husband or family think? So that's one thing we've got to eliminate. But if you look at areas like front of. From people who've come here, fall in love with the country, like the climate, like dealing with Sri Lankans, and say, look, I want to start something. Many of the industrial zones here, many of the smaller boutique-type properties, are people who decided the digital nomad. The previous version of the digital nomad was the the investor who came and then set up something, they were brought here by tourism because the value of tourism is in terms of there's a concept called nation branding. If you position tourism correctly globally, it helps human rights issues, foreign affairs. It helps sell tea. It helps cinnamon. It sells helps helps sell any tourism. Obviously, helps the BOI, helps the EDB because our country image is weak. So tourism and a single nation branding setup is desperately needed because we've got the money. It's just that it's being spent or not spent in six or seven different channels, so FDI nation branding-it's all connected because you want to invest in a country which appeals to you. Why are three or four you know countries in the world doing spectacularly well, coming from nowhere 2030, years ago? Because of the way they position themselves, so people want to go there and invest, and tourism is an amazing way of doing it, and but we've got to promote and position the complete destination, which helps not only tourism but all the other segments that I told you. Because people don't have a perception of this country till they come here. When they come here, they're wow. You know, I never realised it's so amazing, which is not a good thing. It means that we've not communicated the values of this country adequately. People come and they're surprised, so people who don't come don't really know.

Dhananath Fernando  41:47
And it's also less costly to attract someone as a tourist rather than straight away trying to attract them as an investor. So at least you have to make that first interaction as a tourist by positioning the brand and ask them to come and have that firsthand experience. First of all, how easy it is to do business, and that's where your visa process to the first impression at the airport, everything has to be, you know, sequenced in a proper way. I I felt the enthusiasm, Malik, you have to speak about FDI's and tourism, but unfortunately we are running out of time. Thank you. Thank you very much for joining the conversation, and we thank Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance for joining and collaborating with Advocata Institute for this very special series of podcasts because this is core for Advocata's vision and mission because we have we have we fought for bringing down the cost for female employment and changing the regulation, and we brought the importance of why more females should be allowed to join the labour force by minimising the regulation. So this is pretty much our aligning with our vision, vision, and wishing you all the very best for the campaign. Thank you, Dara. And it's it's crucial for Sri Lanka, as we all know.

Speaker 1  43:05
We'll target 20% at the end of next year.

Dhananath Fernando  43:07
Absolutely. Thank you very much, and thank you very much for watching us. And you can subscribe, and you can follow also Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance social media pages, and follow them. And you can also refer to what Malik mentioned to refer to more material and get more information about the campaign and what they do. So thank you very much for watching us. Subscribe us under Advocata Institute, and we are also available in Singal as Advocata Plus, and also in Tamil we are available as Advocata Kural. If you search for any social media platform, including TikTok, you should be able to find us. So we'll see you with another episode. Thank you very much.


Transcribed by https://otter.ai