We Cannot Clap Our Way To The Finish Line
By Sarath De Alwis –June 14, 2015
Sarath De Alwis
An exuberant media, print and electronic, has acclaimed a fleeting and fragile observation by Master Card , that Colombo is the fastest growing tourist city in the world as a monumental achievement.
One isolated line in a 46 page document- Tracking Global Growth: 2009 -2015 became a retrospective endorsement of Gota’s second war on the urban poor of Colombo.
It is a clear reminder that the media in this country despite their avowed assertion of independence was an acquiescent partner of the Rajapaksa siblings in manufacturing popular consent of post war triumphalism, the myth of the Asian miracle and the Indian Ocean hub of 21st Century global commerce.
The once powerful and now plaintive and powerless Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa wasted no time in appropriating the credit for this imaginary accomplishment.
In his face book page, the former defence secretary and the czar of the UDA trumpeted that he was ‘truly delighted’ to see Colombo being recognized as the fastest growing city for tourism in the Global Index of Mater Card whose vision statement is ‘A world beyond Cash ‘.
The former strongman has promised to share his thoughts on Urban Development undertaken by the previous government. In a TV interview, he warned the new government not to squander the developmental success in Colombo by neglecting to maintain the parks, jogging tracks and shopping arcades. The purpose of this article is to dissuade not only the former defense secretary, but also the present heads of Sri Lanka tourism and Sri Lankan airlines from misreading the conclusions and misconstruing the reasoning of the report.
The full report “ Master Card 2015 Global Destination Cities Index” can be accessed here.
Does the survey pronounce Colombo as an exceptionally attractive destination? It does not. Read More
