Sri Lanka: Political thugs take over tourist

sea-sides ; victimes afraid even to complain

Thursday, May 08, 2014
Beach boy menace would kill the goose
that lays golden eggs; Political patronage makes the situation worse
The beach boy menace is raising its ugly head once again in some of the key tourist resorts and
hospitality industry sources complain that if the steps are not taken to curb their thug like
behavior it ill have disastrous conse!uences on the burgeoning tourism industry in the
country"
#ach #oys$
#each #oys %eltradreise"blogspot&
The most affected resorts are 'alutara, #eruela, #entota and (ikkadua and )assekudah to a
lesser e*tent"
A number of responsible persons in the tourism industry who spoke to "The Traveller"
in anonymity said that tourists were being harassed by these elements and some of
them enjoy political patronage !ence" the police were unable to take action against
the strong arm tactics employed by such men
+nil )erera, former ,ice )rincipal of the -eylon (otel .chool, a senior hotelier and senior
lecturer said that several incidents of intimidation, harassment,stealing, and robbing to a lesser
e*tent have been reported in above mentioned resorts and police had failed to bring culprits to
book since they en/oyed backing of some local politicians"
The police ere helpless as the officers receive threats from the area politicians if they took
those responsible for such acts into custody, one 0fficer 1n -harge of a police station in a resort
ho ished to remain anonymous said"
23e may get lightning transfers or if e are lucky ould receive a arning not to touch their
men,2 he added"
1n most cases victims are reluctant to complain to police as they have to leave the country at the
end of their relatively short holiday and the la ould re!uire the complainant to be here hen
the cases are taken up"
2This is a perennial issue and it should have been nipped it in the bud long time ago by
shoing 4ero tolerence, but throughout they youth have been receiving kid glove treatment by
successive governments and the la enforcement officers ere helpless,2 +nil )erera said"
There had been instances here hotel managers ere assaulted by these thugs ho act as tour
guides in the resorts in 'alutara,3addua and #eruela"
The former Manager of Merivere (otel % 5o 'ani 6anka& in 'alamulla, 'alutara as
mercilessly assaulted needing hospitalisation in the 1780s as he ob/ected to beach boys and
touts trying to enter his hotel"
.imilar incident took place in #eruela here one of the Managers of )rinces 6anka (otel as
assaulted by beach boys accompanied by thugs"
1n some cases such incidents have prompted some top hoispitality industry personnel leave the
industry altogether"
23e cannot afford to lose the professionals at a /uncture here the industry needs them more
than ever and the tourism authorities and government should remedy the situation immediately
before it is too late,2 )erera said"
#hen a group of beach boys held a protest on the beach closer to a leading tourist
hotel in $oragalle" a prominent politician who was their god father put up a shed to
protect them from the scorching sun
This clearly manifests the backing received by those ho are violating the la of the country
from some corrupt politicians"
(oever a decade or more ago an organisation called 9esponsible Tourism )artnership in
collaboration ith Travel :oundation ;' started a meaningful programme to rehabilitate these
youth and it bore some satisfactory results"
There ere a fe individuals ho ere instrumental in introducing this programme and tasted
success" They ere -hang -,ey 3en , former <eneral Manager of 9iverina (otel, #eruela
%5o domiciled in the )hilippines& -hamaries Maelage, some of the community leaders in the
area, .u/ith =amasinghe and an enthusiastic band of hotel managers in the resorts"
#ut it has to be a sustainable programme and the politicians should not be their god fathers ho
defend the rongful acts committed by these youth"
>harmin .amara/eea, a 5ational Tourist <uide 6ecturer said that )attaya in Thailand, one of
the most sought after beach resorts in the region faced a similar problem a fe decades ago and
it reached alarming proportions here tourist arrivals plummeted to very lo levels" The
authorities there ere !uick to address the issue by convincing the beachboys if they continue
to harass the tourists on the beach they ill go to other destinations for their holidays and they
ill be left ith nothing in the end"
The youth ere rehabilitated and the menace came an end and today )attaya is once again
flourishing ith tourism, he said"
5egombo is an e*ception and .amara/eea said that the church had played a pivotal role in re?
habilitating the beach boys in the area"
@arlier 5egombo as a hotbed of beachboy menace and over the years it has been brought to a
minimum, he pointed out"
+nil )erera said that the government and the authorities in tourism should find a mechanism to
stop the operation of unlicensed tour guides" This issue is not only confined to the beach only
and there have been several instances here tourists have been robbed by these elements"
The only motive of the beach boys is to make a fast buck by killing the goose that lays the
golden eggs"
This trend has to be changed immediately if tourism is to survive, he said"
+nother crucial issue is strenthening the ill?suited and ill?e!uipped tourist police hich acts
more like a toothless tiger"
1t is not at all capable of or e!uipped to handle issues that they are tasked ith and in many
instances had only acted as a mere passenger"
1t is a crucial stage in .ri 6ankaAs tourism industry and the government should take immediate
steps to revamp the tourist police hich has failed to live upto the e*pectations all these years"
By Harischandra Gunaratna