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Sri Lankan hospitality was once unmatched. Warmth, attentiveness, and generosity were qualities associated not only with our tourism industry but with the country itself. Increasingly, however, the experience of service in Sri Lanka tells a different story. Across restaurants, retail, hospitality and even professional services, poor service is becoming difficult to ignore. Long waits, indifferent attitudes, limited product knowledge, poor communication and an apparent reluctance to go beyond the minimum are increasingly commonplace. While it is tempting to dismiss this as an “attitude problem”, doing so overlooks a more important question: what has happened to the environment in which Sri Lankans work?
Sri Lanka has undergone an extraordinary succession of shocks: decades of conflict, the Easter attacks, COVID-19 and, most recently, the 2022 economic crisis. These experiences do not disappear simply because inflation stabilises or GDP begins growing again. Perhaps, therefore, some of what we interpret as apathy is exhaustion. There is an underlying pessimism that appears to have settled across parts of society. When employees feel financially insecure, see limited possibilities for advancement, and watch peers leave for opportunities overseas — expecting consistently enthusiastic service without addressing these underlying conditions is unrealistic.
However, hardship cannot not explain poor service. Service improves when there are incentives to provide it. Competitive markets create consequences and where competition is limited, employment is disconnected from performance. Organisations tolerate mediocrity and these incentives weaken. Low wages compound the problem. Employees cannot indefinitely be expected to deliver international standards while receiving remuneration that offers little economic security or incentive for excellence. Better service must therefore be accompanied by reasonable remuneration, recognition, career progression, and professionalisation of service occupations. These are also questions of corporate governance. How businesses manage performance, reward employees and invest in human capital ultimately determines their productivity and competitiveness. Strong governance requires accountability at every level, including management’s responsibility to create the conditions in which employees can perform.
Sri Lanka’s skills problem predates the economic crisis. Much of the country’s workforce was historically shaped by a colonial education and employment system designed to produce disciplined administrators and service workers who could meet established standards – rather than innovators and independent problem-solvers. That model may once have served the needs of the British administration and the economy of its time, but it is increasingly outdated in a world that demands creativity, initiative, and adaptability. An education system that has changed too slowly, combined with institutional cultures shaped by hierarchy, entitlement and limited competition, has allowed these habits to become deeply embedded. There is also a more fundamental question: do employees know what excellent service looks like? Customer service is itself a skill. Anticipating needs, communicating professionally, resolving complaints, understanding products and creating an experience require training and exposure. Businesses cannot demand “better attitudes” without investing in developing them.
Sri Lanka may also need to confront a politically uncomfortable question: does the country have enough people willing and able to fill the jobs its economy requires? As Sri Lankans migrate for higher wages while certain domestic industries struggle to recruit and retain workers, carefully regulated inward labour migration deserves serious consideration. Sri Lanka is already experiencing labour and skills shortages in sectors including agriculture and construction, prompting growing discussion around regional labour mobility. Foreign labour should not substitute for improving wages and conditions for Sri Lankan workers. However, selective labour migration could alleviate genuine shortages, introduce new skills and, importantly, increase competition within parts of the labour market.
Sri Lanka increasingly depends on services to generate employment, tourism receipts, investment and economic growth. The World Bank identifies tourism and services as important contributors to the country’s recent recovery. A country seeking higher-value tourists and foreign investment cannot accept declining service standards as inevitable. The experience of Singapore demonstrates what sustained investment in service quality, skills and institutional standards can achieve. Over the past decade, Singapore has continued to strengthen its position as a global services hub, particularly in finance, logistics, professional services, tourism and digital industries. Singapore’s progress has not been based simply on demanding better attitudes from workers. It has involved systematic investment in education, technical and vocational training, productivity, digitalisation and service standards, supported by institutions such as SkillsFuture and the Singapore Tourism Board. India offers a different but equally relevant example. Its services sector has expanded rapidly over the past decade and now account for more than half of India’s economic output. This growth has been supported by a large pool of technically trained workers, expanding digital infrastructure, English-language capability, private-sector competition and deliberate efforts to improve skills and employability. Neither example is directly transferable to Sri Lanka. Singapore has far greater fiscal capacity and a highly centralised system, while India benefits from a much larger domestic market and a substantial technology workforce. But both demonstrate that service quality and service-sector growth are not accidental. They emerge when countries combine skills development, competition, infrastructure, professional management, technology, and credible standards.
The solution therefore requires action from both Government and business: modernise vocational and soft-skills education; professionalise service careers; reward excellence; facilitate carefully regulated foreign labour where genuine shortages exist; and create more competitive markets in which consumers can hold businesses accountable. Most importantly, businesses must invest again in their people. This is where the social dimension of ESG becomes particularly relevant. Fair remuneration, employee well-being, skills development and opportunities for advancement are fundamental to building a productive and motivated workforce. Service quality cannot sustainably exceed the quality of the employment experience behind it. Sri Lanka’s service problem may ultimately be telling us something larger about the country’s recovery. Rebuilding an economy requires more than restoring reserves, reducing inflation, or increasing GDP. It demands greater investment in human capital, responsible business practices, and the social foundations of long-term economic resilience. Above all, it is about restoring aspiration — empowering people with the skills, incentives, exposure and belief that doing something well is worth the effort.
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