The Price of Expertise: Why Professional Knowledge in Sri Lanka’s Tourism & Hospitality Industry Is Still Expected for Free

The Price of Expertise

Introduction: Three Decades of Experience, Yet a Persistent Question

Nearly three decades ago, I entered the tourism and hospitality industry with a clear intention—to become a real and practical hotelier. Not one shaped purely by textbooks or academic theory, but one forged through lived operational reality: opening hotels, managing crises, training multicultural teams, rebuilding distressed assets, and aligning tourism with national economic objectives.

Today, my professional journey spans almost 30 years, direct working experience in seven countries, and on-ground exposure across more than ten destinations, including Sri Lanka, Maldives, Zanzibar – Tanzania, Rwanda, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Thailand, Turkey and Uganda. Cumulatively, this equates to 25,410 miles traveled, representing approximately 6% of the world navigated through professional and research engagement.

Alongside operational leadership, I have consistently contributed to knowledge creation and public discourse:

  • 417 professional and analytical editions published across platforms
  • 124 research papers shared via ResearchGate
  • 281 verified TripAdvisor reviews, grounded in professional evaluation rather than casual travel commentary

Despite these credentials, a recurring and deeply concerning issue persists—particularly in Sri Lanka and parts of South Asia:

There is an unspoken expectation that professional knowledge should be shared freely, endlessly, and informally.

Phone calls without appointments. Requests for “quick meetings.” Lengthy emails asking for strategic advice. Invitations to “just come and talk.”

This reality forces an uncomfortable but necessary question:

Would a professional of similar calibre be approached in this manner in Europe, the United Kingdom, the United States, or Australia?

And if the answer is no—why does it happen here? Is it economic necessity? Cultural conditioning? Or a deeper, systemic undervaluation of local expertise—especially when the expert is Sri Lankan or Asian?

The Global Valuation of Expertise: How Mature Markets Treat Knowledge

In developed and professionally mature tourism economies, expertise is not viewed as a favour—it is recognized as intellectual capital.

Comparative Global Benchmarks

Based on industry reports, consultancy disclosures, and professional associations:

  • United Kingdom: Senior hospitality and tourism consultants charge between GBP 150–400 per hour.
  • United States: Destination strategists and hotel turnaround specialists command USD 200–600 per hour, with project retainers often exceeding USD 100,000.
  • Australia: Tourism development advisors average AUD 250–450 per hour, particularly in regional destination planning.
  • Middle East (UAE & Saudi Arabia): Advisory engagements are structured through formal contracts, often linked to national vision frameworks.
  • Africa (Rwanda, Tanzania): Even emerging tourism economies institutionalize paid advisory models for strategic input.

In these markets, free advice is not considered generosity—it is seen as unprofessional and risky. Payment formalizes accountability, scope, and responsibility.

By contrast, Sri Lanka—where tourism contributes over 12% to GDP directly and indirectly and employs one in ten working citizens—continues to operate within an informal advice culture that erodes value at its core.

The Cultural Paradox: Respect Without Remuneration

Sri Lanka is a society that outwardly reveres education, seniority, titles, and experience. However, this respect frequently fails to translate into economic recognition.

Common phrases heard by professionals include:

  • “It will only take a few minutes.”
  • “We just need your opinion.”
  • “Come and meet us—no formalities.”

In knowledge-based economies, time is the ultimate currency. When time is taken without structure or compensation, expertise is quietly devalued.

Hospitality professionals are particularly vulnerable to this phenomenon because their industry is perceived as service-oriented, blurring the line between goodwill and professional advisory.

Is This About Being Sri Lankan—or Being Asian?

This question is uncomfortable, but it must be asked honestly.

Throughout my international career, one pattern has been consistent:

  • Western consultants are rarely asked for free strategic input.
  • Asian professionals working abroad are engaged formally, through contracts.
  • The same Asian professionals, when operating in their home countries, are expected to “give back” without limits.

This is not overt racism. It is internalized undervaluation—a legacy mindset where foreign expertise is perceived as superior, even when local professionals possess deeper contextual understanding.

Sri Lanka routinely spends millions importing consultants, while globally experienced Sri Lankans remain underutilized, underpaid, or informally consulted.

Case Study 1: The Maldives – Knowledge as Capital

The Maldivian tourism model treats expertise as a scarce, high-value resource. Senior hoteliers are engaged via:

  • Retainer agreements
  • Project-based consultancy contracts
  • Performance-linked advisory roles

No strategic advice is informal. This approach has supported the Maldives in achieving one of the world’s highest tourism revenue-per-arrival ratios, exceeding USD 3,000 per visitor.

Lesson for Sri Lanka: Structured payment institutionalizes respect.

Case Study 2: Rwanda – Discipline in an Emerging Market

Rwanda’s tourism sector is younger than Sri Lanka’s, yet operates with striking professionalism. Advisory input is:

  • Requested through formal channels
  • Budgeted transparently
  • Evaluated against measurable outcomes

As a result, Rwanda has achieved one of Africa’s fastest-growing high-yield tourism profiles, with strong conservation-linked revenues.

Case Study 3: United Arab Emirates – Time Is a Priced Asset

In the UAE, even a 30-minute consultation is rarely informal. Calendars are protected, scopes defined, and value assigned in advance.

This culture does not diminish collaboration—it enhances efficiency and mutual respect.

Case Study 4: Sri Lanka – The Cost of Informality

Sri Lanka’s tourism sector loses millions annually due to:

  • Poor master planning
  • Repetitive policy reversals
  • Absence of long-term advisory continuity

Many of these failures stem from informal decision-making unsupported by structured expert engagement.

Case Study 5: Zanzibar – Respect Within Constraints

Despite limited financial resources, Zanzibar compensates senior advisors within realistic frameworks. Respect is demonstrated through structure, not scale.

Case Study 6: Saudi Arabia – From Casual Advice to National Vision

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 illustrates how structured professional input transforms entire tourism ecosystems. Every advisory role is formalized, documented, and remunerated.

Case Study 7: Personal Reality – The Invisible Drain of Free Consulting

Across my career, hundreds—if not thousands—of unpaid advisory hours have been absorbed through informal requests.

A conservative estimate suggests:

  • 1,500+ hours of uncompensated strategic input
  • Equivalent to USD 300,000–500,000 in lost professional value

This is not generosity. It is systemic leakage.

The Economic Cost of Free Knowledge

When expertise is free:

  • Accountability diminishes
  • Implementation weakens
  • Outcomes deteriorate

Sri Lanka’s tourism challenges are not due to lack of intelligence, but lack of respect for it.

More critically, when original thinking is taken without recognition or structure, the industry risks eroding intellectual property at its source.

I Am a Concept Creator: Intellectual Property in Tourism Thought Leadership

Beyond operational leadership and advisory work, I must clearly state an often-overlooked reality: I am a concept creator.

Over the past three decades, I have developed, articulated, and published original tourism and hospitality concepts—many of which did not previously exist in Sri Lankan discourse, regional policy frameworks, or global hospitality literature. These are not recycled ideas, repackaged theories, or borrowed models. They are context-driven, ground-tested concepts, born from lived professional experience across multiple continents.

Anyone who has followed my work—across my 417 published editions, my academic contributions, and my public thought leadership—will recognize that:

  • The topics I introduce are distinctive in framing
  • They address unspoken structural gaps in tourism and hospitality
  • They are not replicated elsewhere online prior to my publication

In many instances, these concepts later begin to circulate—sometimes informally discussed, sometimes partially adopted—without attribution, permission, or engagement.

This is not coincidence. It is evidence of intellectual originality.

Original Thought Is Intellectual Property—Not Public Charity

In advanced knowledge economies, concept creation itself is a protected professional asset. Strategic frameworks, destination narratives, operational models, and policy lenses are recognized as intellectual property, whether or not they are formally patented.

In Sri Lanka, however, there remains a dangerous misconception:

“If it is written publicly, it is free to use.”

This assumption is incorrect—ethically, professionally, and legally.

Under globally accepted intellectual property norms, including principles reflected in Sri Lanka’s Intellectual Property Act, original written work, conceptual frameworks, and analytical models are protected from unauthorized commercial or strategic use.

My work—whether published on LinkedIn, professional platforms, or my personal website—is shared to stimulate informed discussion, not to serve as a free consulting substitute.

The Pattern of Silent Extraction

A recurring pattern has emerged over the years:

  • A concept is published
  • Informal inquiries increase
  • Meetings are requested “to understand more”
  • Similar language and frameworks later appear in proposals, presentations, or internal documents—often without attribution

This is not collaboration. It is silent extraction of intellectual capital.

In Europe, the UK, the USA, or Australia, such behavior would immediately trigger:

  • Formal consultancy engagement
  • Licensing discussions
  • Or, at minimum, professional attribution

The absence of these mechanisms in Sri Lanka does not make the practice acceptable—it merely exposes a gap in professional maturity.

Why Concept Creators Leave—or Disengage

This undervaluation of original thinking has long-term consequences:

  • Senior professionals disengage
  • Younger thinkers emigrate
  • Innovation stagnates

Sri Lanka’s tourism sector already faces a brain drain of globally competent professionals. When original thinkers are treated as free resources rather than strategic assets, disengagement becomes inevitable.

Reframing Professional Boundaries: Responsibility of Experts

Professionals must also take responsibility by:

  • Publishing consultation frameworks
  • Defining advisory rates
  • Redirecting informal requests to formal channels

Boundaries are not arrogance—they are protection of value.

A Call to Industry Leaders and Policymakers

If Sri Lanka aims to compete globally, it must:

  • Institutionalize expert engagement
  • Allocate budgets for advisory services
  • Value local professionals at international benchmarks

World-class tourism cannot emerge from casual decision-making.

Conclusion: Knowledge Has a Price—and a Purpose

I remain deeply committed to Sri Lanka’s tourism future. However, commitment does not require self-devaluation.

Professional knowledge is earned—through decades of work, research, sacrifice, and lived experience. Until Sri Lanka learns to value its own experts, it will continue to import wisdom at a far greater cost.

Disclaimer

This article has been authored and published in good faith by Dr. Dharshana Weerakoon, DBA (USA), based on publicly available data, decades of professional experience across multiple continents, and ongoing industry insight. It is intended solely for educational, journalistic, and public awareness purposes.

The author accepts no responsibility for misinterpretation or misuse. Views expressed are personal and analytical, and do not constitute legal, financial, or investment advice. The article complies with Sri Lankan intellectual property, non-discrimination, and ethical standards.

✍ Authored independently through lived professional expertise—not AI-generated.

Further Reading: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7046073343568977920/

Further Reading: https://dharshanaweerakoon.com/unlocking-sri-lankas-higher-education-potential/

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