Sri Lanka’s Tourism Ministry launches online entry permit service for national parks in the country
The Ministry of Tourism Development and Wildlife Conservation in Sri Lanka has reportedly launched an online entry permit service for national parks in a bid to make the process people-friendly and to manage over-visitation.
“With e-ticketing we are going to put a system into wildlife parks,” Tourism Development and Wildlife Conservation Minister John Amaratunga has said at the launch of the service.
“Before, some foreigners had to queue up for hours. That was not welcome, so we put this system up to get rid of the problem.”
Visitors to Yala have been seen queuing up from as early as 4.30am to gain entry, industry officials have stated.
The online service will only be available at larger parks such as Yala at first. It will be gradually expanded to include all national parks in Sri Lanka, Amaratunga has explained.
Visitors can print out a receipt or use the official app to scan a QR code at the park’s entrance.
According to reports, over-visitation has become a problem in Yala. The daily limit is now 600 jeeps, split equally between morning and evening.
Minister Amaratunga has said the new online system will manage the number of people entering national parks going forward.
Over-visitation has even resulted in the death of some animals at Yala, as jeep drivers speed inside the park to get good sightings.
According to the Minister, a new programme will be launched to educate drivers and guides to be responsible.
“We need to advise them that if they don’t help to conserve, their income source will be taken away,” Amaratunga has added.
OSL take:
The move by Sri Lanka’s Tourism Ministry to introduce online entry permits to the wildlife parks in the country would help foreign visitors to the country gain easy access to the large parks in Sri Lanka. As stated by the Tourism Minister, the new system would also help keep a tab on the number of visitors to the wildlife parks ensuring the protection of the wildlife and environment in the respective parks. With Sri Lanka’s tourism industry recording a continuous growth, foreign businesses/industries could explore business opportunities in the island’s tourism sector. Foreign businesses could also look at innovative ways of setting up tourist attractions in the country.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/17012019/Z_4 |