Recognizing Best Destination Award Winning Arugam Bay - December  2007

Arugam Bay is classed among the top ten surf destinations in the world and there is so much more. The village itself is a delightful experience, there are no big hotel chains there, the community has developed tourism with their own hard work and imagination. Three star establishments rub shoulders with low key stilt cabins and coconut palm leaf cabanas, and tourists share the beach with local fishermen. The wild and rugged scenery, elephants browsing at the edge of the village, abundant birdlife, and mysterious archeological sites have made this a long time favourite destination for travelers.

The three ethnic groups (Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims) work and live in harmony. Population is 3000 families and tourism establishments consists mostly of small family managed hotels/guesthouses and restaurants.

Earlier the direct economic benefits were mostly limited to hotels, restaurants and transport providers, poor sector of the community was not able to benefit directly from tourism. Now different communities outside the main tourism sector such as fishermen, rural women and farmers directly benefit from tourism. The revenue is equally shared by community participants. Income is also put back to protect mangrove ecosystems, archaeological sites, handicraft production by them as they now know that protecting these resources will safeguard their future income.

Immediately after the tsunami, there was a movement to relocate the community and their tourism businesses to build luxury hotels, which the locals on their own have over the years worked so hard to build. Resilient and a united community reversed this decision and secured their livelihood. Arugam Bay still is a surfers’ paradise and a very strong community tourism destination.
 
Getting organized – Team Work!

Establishment of a multi stakeholder group to service the tourists.Tourists can now visit the Community Based Tourism Center CBTC to find out about the attractions and offers and to make bookings. CBTC, a hub designed for visitors to contact and book services provided by locals, such as tours, accommodation and handicrafts. It also provides a meeting point for locals to organize themselves as tourism leaders.

Sharing the tourism benefits

Poor rural community is getting directly benefited from tourism. Initiatives have been taken to involve Fishermen (Fisherman co-op societies of Potvil and Kudakali), farmers from Mailagastotum Organic Farmer Organization, women from Komari - & women Pasarachanai Women Rural Development to get directly involved in tourism. Income from every tour is equitably distributed amongst all participants. Farming community gets revenue from tourists visiting the Farm. Archeological and religious sites, which do not have entrance fees, are given a contributions. In addition donations from visitors are also received.

Community Eco Guides Association
 
13 young men from Arugam Bay have been certified as eco- and formed their own agency. They get paid for conducting the tours.

Arugam Bay Tourism Association

Guesthouses and restaurants are members of Arugam Bay Tourists Association (ABTA) which was formally registered in 2005, ABTA has 139 members of family owned hotels/guesthouses and restaurant members.

Awareness and education

Tourists are given a detail description of how they should be culturally sensitive. Religion is one of the main cultural elements and most tourists visit religious sites such as temples and Hindu shrines where clear guidelines of behaviour need to be adopted. As there are three different ethnic groups, with three different cultures, the awareness programmes have made them more aware of their own cultures and now have greater respect for each other.

Inter-community / cultural exchanges have been carried out where people from Arugam Bay travel to other destinations to learn about good and bad examples of tourism. These have been both local and overseas giving exposure to best practices elsewhere.
In addition meetings are organized with community leaders regularly to discuss how the community feels tourism has impacted it.

Going Eco

Eco-friendly traveling modes are used. No motor boats are used in the lagoon. Each member of ABTA encourages responsible tourism practices for suppliers as well as tourists. Members contributes towards a garbage collection, maintenance and management of proper disposal. Locals through various workshops and awareness programmes have been encouraged to practice environmentally healthy practices. Beach cleaning programmes and school children awareness programs has been conducted. Arugam Bay does not have over visitation issues. Tourism income is used to improve the quality of the mangrove reserves

Community wants community based tourism and feel that what makes Arugam Bay attractive is the Community involvement. In Arugam Bay, tourism not only bring money, but it also create a vehicle for peace for three ethnic groups to work and live in harmony. Community wants to link with government and protect the lifeline to the community and create a different community tourism model for Sri Lanka Tourism.

Arugam Bay was awarded the highly commended best destination at the World Travel Market (WTM) World Responsible Tourism Awards held on the 14th of November at Dockland in London. The aim of the awards is to recognise individuals, companies and organisations in the travel industry that are making a significant commitment to the culture and economies of local communities and are providing a positive contribution to biodiversity conservation. All together there were 13 award categories. The Best Destination Award is given for a resort, village or an entire country that manages tourism well for the long-term benefit of tourists, conservation and local people.

For more information contact –
           Sewalanka Foundation  0773863243
           Mercy Corps  0773237291
           Responsible Tourism Partnership 0773251088

  7th December 2007