- How Yarl Explorers aims to develop SL’s untapped tourist hotspot
Often overlooked in the eyes of both locals and foreigners is the northern side of Sri Lanka and all the rich culture, heritage, and beauty it has to offer. If tapped into correctly, Jaffna has so much potential to become a full-fledged tourism hotspot offering a unique approach to our local tourism industry.
One of the first hospitality brands to make their presence felt in Jaffna and opening the doors of the northern peninsula to travellers from Sri Lanka and the world over was Jetwing Hotels, who, along with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Sri Lanka, recently launched a new venture – Yarl Explorers – to equip youth in Jaffna with the skills and knowledge necessary to become professional tour guides, further bolstering the tourism capacity of the North and providing a source of income to the region.
Brunch reached out to Jetwing Symphony PLC Chairman Hiran Cooray, who noted that despite Jaffna being a city with great potential to be recognised as one of Sri Lanka’s famous tourist hotspots, it remains largely untapped. Taking pride in Jetwing’s work in the northern coast over the years, he added: “As the very first group of hotels to have identified this, we feel that there is much that can be done to bolster the region’s tourism.”
Giving us a detailed picture of this project and what we can expect, Cooray informed us that Yarl Explorers is an initiative to equip local youth with the skills and knowledge to become quality tour leaders within the region and promote its unrealised potential and unique culture.
Cooray explained that the vocational training in Sri Lanka that GIZ implements on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development (BMZ) and the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) helps put focus on creating and supporting future-oriented short-term courses for youth with limited opportunities.
Sharing his thoughts on the matter, GIZ Sri Lanka Vocational Training in Sri Lanka Project Director Mathis Hemberger told us that he believes there to be many tourist hotspots in Jaffna and expressed his gratitude in being able to partner with the hotel chain. “I am very glad for the opportunity to work with Jetwing Hotels in order to bring new career opportunities for youth who had limited exposure to careers in the hospitality sector,” he told us.
When asked what we can expect in terms of a tourism boom in Jaffna, he observed that with the growth in the tourism sector in Jaffna he witnessed over the last few years, he strongly believes that more hospitality sector partners will join hands to build capacities of the youth through similar partnerships.
Sharing some insight into their partner on this project and how it came to be, Cooray further noted: “We are glad that GIZ has partnered with us on this youth empowerment initiative. Our partnership with GIZ in community development runs as far back as 2015, collaborating on empowering the Northern youth through the very first Jetwing Youth Development Project to be conducted in Jaffna.”
In terms of their partnership, both Cooray and Hemberger hope that their latest venture together goes a long way in promoting Jaffna’s regional tourism and giving the North a place on Sri Lanka’s tourism hotspot map.
