White Man Can’t See White Tigers
By R. Wijewardene
The latest additions to the Dehiwala zoo
The Dehiwala zoo has just received two rare white tigers. They were sorely needed, as the ailing and much criticised zoo desperately needs new attractions to rekindle public interest in what is one of Colombo’s most striking green spaces.
As The Sunday Leader believes the Dehiwala zoo is one of Colombo’s hidden gems, we immediately decided to send a journalist to interview the zoo’s director, and photograph the white tigers.
We decided that sub editor and wild life enthusiast Michael Hardy was the best reporter for the job. Unfortunately Michael happens to be American and we soon hit a snag; we were told by administrative staff at the zoo that just to set foot in the premises Michael would have to pay the Rs. 2000 foreign admittance charge; even to conduct an interview and give the zoo some free publicity.
Shocked, we contacted the zoo’s Director Ananda Lokuranwaka to see if we could get a waiver of the fee, as we would be doing the zoo a service but we were informed that this was impossible.
“Even I cannot waive the fee,” said Lokuranwaka.
He went on to say that it is ”difficult for foreigners to visit the zoo! Can you please send a local.”
An extraordinary statement as you’d think that charging Rs. 2000 was a strategy to extract maximum revenue from foreign visitors, and not part of a deliberate effort to keep them away.
The dual pricing system, one price for foreigners and another for locals exists everywhere in Sri Lanka and it is, to a large extent, acceptable. Foreigners, as a rule, earn more than Sri Lankans and can generally afford to pay more. Cultural and national heritage sites, including the zoo, need money for maintenance, and tourist dollars provide much needed revenue.
But sometimes the utter greed and stupidity of those setting entrance fees is such that they are now defeating the purpose of maximizing revenue and are actually deterring tourists from visiting cultural sites.
Even well-off tourists now seriously debate whether it’s worth paying the Rs. 3000 it costs to visit Sigiriya and there are those who simply choose not to go.
But while there might be some logic to charging $25 to visit a World Heritage Site, Rs. 2000 to visit our pleasant but shabby zoo is completely absurd.
A visit to the Dehiwala zoo simply isn’t worth Rs. 2000, and therefore tourists will simply stop visiting the zoo — already reported by several to be shabby and not worth a visit.
This is a shame as the zoo needs the extra income and doubly a pity because the solution isn’t enormously complex. All that needs to be done is for the relevant authorities to take the simple decision to lower the price of admittance for second-tier attractions such as the zoo to a sensible Rs.1000, rather than the current Rs. 2000.
However, as the zoo’s current Director can’t even waive the admission fee for a journalist, it seems that such a simple practical step will not be taken any time soon and for the foreseeable future it will remain ‘difficult for foreigners to visit the zoo.’
Other Overpriced Attractions
A whopping $20 for the Kandy Museum – anyone who’s been to the Kandy museum, you remember the place – stuffed elephants, a couple of dusty exhibits etc. knows it isn’t worth $20.
Hakgala Rs. 1000 — To see a small park! Rs. 500 would be more like it.
Horton Plains — Rs. 2000; A beautiful place but again the steep price is actually likely to put tourists off seeing it.
Related posts:
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- The Dehiwala Zoo Is Beautiful By Michael Hardy Ever since I arrived in Sri Lanka I’ve heard nothing but disparaging remarks about the Dehiwala Zoo. People told me the facilities...
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Actually very little of the takings at the gate at the zoo and national parks make it back for the betterment of the facilities. All fees collected go straight to the treasury, as in the case of all National Park. The Department of Wildlife for example get an allotted allocation in the annual budget. What is earned as entrance fees goes straight to the government coffers.
what are you tring to make out if you think the treasurery is making lots of money think again it takes heaps to maitain a facility like the zoo you go to Singapore zoo you virtually see your self and pay 25 $ and no one mournes get real man dont expect to get every thing free it would be like getting 9 kilos rice from the moon Posted by Rohan seneviratne