Locals Deserve Respect Too!
- Ganidu Balasuriya
- Apr 16
- 2 min read
⚠️ Policy Update - “If you can’t respect your own people, don’t expect support from local professionals either”
As a professional architectural photographer, working for over 10 years and serving countless hotels across Sri Lanka, I hear more and more discrimination stories every day and they’re not coming from foreigners. They’re coming from our own people.
We are currently at the peak of a tourism boom. A rebound that the industry desperately needed. But let’s rewind a bit. During the pandemic, when borders closed and flights stopped, it wasn’t tourists who supported this industry. It was us. The locals!
We booked stays, ordered food, took trips, and kept these businesses alive. We were the reason many hotels even survived that difficult time.
But now, some of those same places "both local and foreign owned" have conveniently forgotten. In popular tourist areas, more and more properties are turning away locals, choosing instead to serve foreigners only. “Locals not allowed.” “Foreign guests only.”
Let that sink in,
Sri Lanka is famous not just because of its landscapes, but because of our hospitality. Our warmth! Our people! If we start treating our own like outsiders, what kind of brand are we really building?
On top of that, let’s talk about what’s happening within the tourism industry. From Ttuk Tuk drivers to high-end agencies, a growing number of players are scamming tourists overcharging, manipulating, exploiting.
So, we’re excluding locals and exploiting foreigners? That’s not hospitality. That’s a crisis of values.
As someone who works closely with this industry, I’ve made a decision:
⚠️ If you discriminate against our own citizens, I will not offer my services to you. If you think locals are not worth your hospitality, then you can look for foreign suppliers too ⚠️
I know this might hurt my business financially but honestly, keeping our dignity matters way more. I’ve already turned down projects from hotels with clear patterns of discrimination. I see the reviews, I hear the stories, and I won’t stay silent.
Also, tourists aren’t blind. They talk. They post. They know. And if they stop visiting because of this broken culture, the only people left will be the locals you refused to serve.
Treat everyone with respect. That’s the brand we should be building. One that lasts.
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