- A chat with business owners
While the south has reigned supreme for years as Sri Lanka’s main coastal destination, Arugam Bay and the east coast have been making a move for that top spot. Of course, there’s really no need for the two coasts to compete – they can comfortably co-exist thanks to the monsoon seasons which affect both the south and the east differently, but is our eastern coast receiving the same opportunities as its southern sister?
The tourist season in Arugam Bay (which essentially means the best time to surf) starts from mid-May to September. Unfortunately, the last three years, including 2019, have been far from ideal and things have not been going too well for Arugam Bay – or so it would seem.
Brunch recently had the opportunity to pay a quick visit to A-Bay and chat with business owners and locals, who on the basis of anonymity, had a lot to say on the challenges of living, working, and growing within the environment of A-Bay. Here’s what we found.
Tourism is doing okay
The residents around the famous surf hotspot revealed that despite the country’s economic crisis, ongoing protests, and political instability, A-Bay continued to see visitors, especially foreigners. Speaking to a tuk-tuk driver near Whiskey Point who undertakes tuk-tuk safaris for a lot of Israeli and Ukrainian visitors, we learned that A-Bay still experienced a lot of foreign visitors because this particular group of people, especially from countries like Israel, were very used to news exaggerating unstable realities in countries. “Israeli people are not concerned about these protests and whatnot, they just want to surf. Many of them are lovers of this beach since it is very famous there and they won’t miss their chance to surf no matter what,” he said.
We also spoke to a number of restaurant and hotel owners along the coast, especially near the surf spot on the beach – many of these establishments were beachfront properties. One of the resto-bar owners shared: “Usually when guests come to surf, they stay for about two weeks. They do their surfing lessons, and lots of surfing camps. Even in 2019, even though the bombings happened, although for two months it was absolutely barren, we saw people coming in by around late July,” he said.
Another stated: “Speaking of business from July to September 2019, we reported about 50-60%. Certainly, it was not 100% because people who are spending will demand reduced prices, because they know the nature of the situation. They may come to surf and are unaffected, but they know what is going on. This area in Arugam Bay is especially popular among backpackers, so they will demand some discounts, but still we managed.”
The business owners all agreed that they faced the worst of it when the country was closed during the height of the pandemic. Many shared that the quarantine curfew during March 2020 was probably their worst period, but they did see a resulting growth in their local market share once curfews were lifted.
“Since locals couldn’t travel to India or Thailand, that crowd was targeted by travel agents who promoted Arugam Bay to local travellers,” some business owners said, adding: “We focused on them for half price – people from local companies, families, even school groups. From this revenue we managed.”
Many of the business owners with beachfront properties shared that one of their main concerns was maintenance: “We need to have enough for staff maintenance, and since this is the coast, because of the sea breeze – to keep it in shape and not allow things to waste away and rust, we need manpower for the maintenance of the property.”
The locals expressed that they were very grateful that the Sri Lankan Government had opened up the country while many others had not. “Sri Lanka was one of the few countries that allowed travel within the country with only a PCR test, and tourists were given the opportunity to travel in their bio bubble. This was during the time when a lot of countries closed their borders, especially those tourist-heavy countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, etc.”
One of the hotel owners on the beach shared that they had a very interesting experience last September. “Many people who came during that time had suffered during Covid and were really looking to have a great time, so there was a lot of activity here, lots of parties, and many of them shared their good times on social media, which really helped us gain a lot of traction internationally,” he said. “On 4 September I organised a big table outside my hotel and had a massive BBQ. It turned out that the mother of one of the girls who was staying with us was actually a producer at Channel 2 in Israel, and she had shared a clip with her mom which was broadcasted on their television network. That day, leading into the next week, we had so many calls and inquiries – we couldn’t even go to sleep,” he said.
While locals were wholeheartedly appreciative of the Government opening up the borders for travel after the pandemic, that is where their gratitude ended. The consensus which was loud and clear among the locals in Arugam Bay when it came to Government support for tourism, was one of general disdain.
A community effort
When asked about the effects of the current crisis on their daily activities, the business owners shared that while the lack of electricity had been a concern, since many of the guests who come to Arugam Bay didn’t really visit to stay inside, they hadn’t received too many complaints.
As for the shortage of LP gas, they said: “This is not regular, but as a community, we look out for each other, and the people in Arugam Bay don’t want any money to go outside our borders, so when gas is delivered or other reliefs are given, we as a community make an effort to support the businesses in our town. The hotel owners are the ones who keep us all in business, so we try to give them priority whenever we can.”
The hotel owners shared that while the Tourism Ministry had promised certain reliefs, this had only been provided once, noting that they had come to not rely on the authorities as they had been nothing but useless.
What A-Bay needs now
When addressing the challenges that A-Bay faces when it comes to tourism, the main concern that repeatedly arose was the lack of public toilets. As ridiculous as it may sound, Arugam Bay, for the entire beach stretch of the coastal town, does not have a single public toilet.
If you have ever been to Arugam Bay then you know exactly what we mean. After your surf lesson, if you wish to use the bathroom, you ask one of the restaurants to let you use their facilities, and they will kindly oblige. The beachfront property owners all complained about this: “During the offseason it is okay, we can let a few people use our facilities, but when the season comes it is a burden that we are forced to bear.”
One restaurant owner shared: “For the last nine years there have been no toilets here. There have been many occasions, where I myself have written and spoken to the Divisional Secretary, the Tourism Ministry and all sorts of other authorities about setting up toilets. I have requested them to at least take a small place and have two people who can work, then they can also earn some money. You can charge Rs. 50 and maintain it just fine,” he said, adding furiously: “After that they told me, ‘can you search and tell us where?’ Why am I searching for the land? How is that my responsibility?”
The other concern raised by these business owners was more pressing and more serious than a mere inconvenience – the matter of security in Arugam Bay. There is a tourist Police station just next to the surf spot on the beach. However, according to the locals, it is the least equipped Police station in the entirety of the eastern coast. The locals said: “Just go to the Police station and see for yourself – there are no counters, no beds to sleep even. They say ‘Tourist Police’ but nobody in the station can speak the English language. They will just send you to Pottuvil.”
Business owners also shared that the Tourist Police station was not at all equipped to deal with the issues that arose in the beach town. “There is a serious security issue here which we don’t want to highlight too much because it affects us as well – since this is a tourism hotspot, everyone is here to have a good time. At nighttime, there are many events, parties and such. However, whenever people are out during the midnight hours, there is no Police to provide security because Tourist Police don’t work after 12 a.m. They don’t have the manpower to man a station after midnight,” they said, noting that around 2 a.m. was when nightlife peaked, and there had been many unfortunate incidents – especially before 2019. The most damaging implications this had on A-Bay business owners and on Sri Lanka in general was that tourists would return to their home countries and spread the word that Arugam Bay (and Sri Lanka) was not safe to travel.
In addition to these two main concerns, locals spoke about moving fishing boats off the beach to a designated area to prevent obstructed views of the ocean: “Business owners and hoteliers here are happy to pay compensation, even some form of tax for keeping the beach clean,” they said.
Many also addressed the difficulty in obtaining a liquor licence: “Tourists do not come here to have tea or coffee. They want to at least enjoy a beer, and we ask that at least only for the season, for perhaps four to six months, we should be allowed a licence for beer. The Government can tax us at 15% or 20%, and that money will go straight to the Government. We believe it is a good idea to allow this as it is an absolute necessity to keep these businesses going.”
Despite being a beloved coastal town for nearly a decade, speaking with local business owners showed us that all is not as rosy as it appears. Many spoke to us with defeat in their voices as they let out their frustrations. Thanks to a loving and supportive community, they have managed to stay afloat, but for how much longer?
