SCT Menu／International／Kandy, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka（Kandy City）
- Introduction
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As a sacred Buddhist city, Kandy, also known as the "Sacred City of Kandy", became a UNESCO WorldHeritage Site in 1988, 16 years before Kumano.
The people of Kandy continue to respect the old traditions and religious rituals and still adhere to a view of life and death backed by a deep faith. This is also reflected in the culture of mutual assistance and the extended family as the fundamental unit of society.
However, there has been a trend in Sri Lanka to move lower on the Gross National Happiness Index (GNI) as the educational levels and opportunity gap grows between urban and rural areas. This is tending to disturb the foundations of this ancient culture leading to the deterioration of the invisible connections that bond this community. With the government not having a clear strategic tourism policy and falling back on the old "Exotic Green Jem Island: Ceylon" present tourist policy is still geared towards Western tourists. However, this has suffered considerably due to the civil war in Sri Lanka and tourism income has, as a result, dropped considerably.
Comparing Kumano and Kandy we see a lot of commonalities. Kumano is known as a "Sacred Pilgrimage Site" and Kandy is also known as the "Sacred City of Kandy". Both are World Heritage Sites because of their long spiritual and religious history based on their identity as sacred power spots. They also share traditions of Theravada Buddhism and the tradition of bringing together Buddhism and indigenous divine entities as in the Shinto tradition in Japan. Both regions have abundant natural, cultural, and historical resources that can be the foundation of a new form of tourism that focuses on the people, communities, and the heritage of sustainability. Kumano as an ancient pilgrimage destination and Kandy as a sacred and ancient capital of the Sinhalese Dynasty are both naturally attractive destinations for people wanting to experience and learn from traditions that still honor the family, nature, and community.
While Shingu and and the Kumano region as a whole is experiencing an aging population and depopulation of rural areas, Kandy is grappling with low levels of education and poverty.
Mr. Chandra, a resident of Japan and member of the Asia 21 Foundation, joined the Sri Lanka delegation. Asia 21 organized tours for studentsof Sri Lanka to visit Kumano to experience village life and go on experiential tours. With Kandy as the main focus, the said group is working on going beyond the typical tourism style of drawing people to botanical gardens and zoos towards a more interactive form of tourism where people can learn from each other and exchange practical ideas and wisdom that lead to the preservation or restoration of sustainable communities. The goal is to build up a form of tourism that is sustainable for future generations and recent activities like World Watch tours have proven it can be done.
