Behind impressive figures lies a more complex and uncomfortable reality
The Sri Lankan government wants international visitors’ numbers to surpass last year’s 2,362,521 tourist arrivals by 637,479 this year – meaning, a total three million arrivals in 2026.
The goal is to then grow those arrivals to 4 million by 2030 - nearly 1.640,000 more than the 2025 benchmark - all well and good. However, the four million dollar question is “Will there be sufficient workers in the hospitality industry to cater to them? Call me skeptical, but the way things are, we are definitely going to have a gap, if we continue the way we're going.
While a whole lot of attention is given to attract plane loads of travellers, and I say plane loads because nearly 99% or roughly 2.33 million of last year’s total international visitors to Sri Lanka arrived by plane, and to a continuous increase in room capacity, not much is been done to entice more workers into the industry. Eventually, that would translate to the local tourism workforce not being big enough to cater for the anticipated growing number of travellers.
Have we properly identified the destinations where there are more visits? Looking ahead, has the tourism industry figured out where the pressure points would be and the extent of the gap? How can tourism be taught in schools? Our industry must work with the government in introducing hospitality education in schools. What components can we expect for the tourism industry, and how can we be part of guiding and building those together, so that tourism is represented in skills, that is going to provide us with a diverse range of students, who see multiple pathways for their career.
Despite the industry’s characteristics setting a relatively low bar of skills and qualifications at the entry level, it has a reputation of poor pay, unsustainable hours and limited career progression. While the perception that the hotel industry doesn’t pay well is true… to the extent that it applies to entry / lower- level grades, it is also true that there are a countless number of individuals, who have persevered to climb up-the-ladder, and earn good money as well. Unfortunately, the industry has done very little to shine a light on these success stories. There are different opportunities in tourism, but many people did not think beyond the entry level jobs on offer, and the industry has done little to shed more light.
In terms of unsustainable hours, the hospitality industry is not the only exception. There are a multitude of jobs that do not adhere to the traditional 9-to-5 schedule: Doctors and other medical professionals including nurses and care-givers, the police and law enforcing agencies, fire fighters, air traffic controllers, pilots, cabin crew and others working at airports, to name but a few.
A little known concern relates to those who apply to follow the courses conducted by the Sri Lanka Institute of Hospitality Management. SLITHM produces trainees for the local hotel industry, but of late, it is alleged that the limited spots are increasingly assumed by youth who have no intention of joining the local tourism industry. Rather, they use the SLITHM qualification as a “skills passport” to migrate to another country permanently. It is estimated that a high proportion of those who conclude their courses aspire to secure long term settlement in Australia or New Zealand or to seek jobs in the Middle East.
Plagued by a high labour turnover; an over-reliance on temporary workers, and, hence, non-standard forms of employment; an under-representation of women; and the mismatch of skills, further compounded by the fact that only a small fraction of the existing workforce possess some form of technical training, the battle to attract, retain and grow its workforce will be a huge task.
Shafeek Wahab – Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Trainer, Motivational Speaker, Mystery Guest Auditor, Ex-Hotelier
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