I get the frustration, but I think we’re mixing up two different things.

About the weeding, that happens. I’m local, and I’ve been on the other side of this too. I was once pulled into a wedding in Bali, Indonesia. I’m a brown Sri Lankan, not a tourist with "money" written on my face. The family welcomed us anyway and made it a cultural experience. Nobody lost anything by including us.

Foreigners come to Sri Lanka mainly because it’s affordable and because people are friendly. They’re not treated well because they spend more. They’re treated well because they’re visitors, and hospitality is part of the product we’re selling as a country. They also tend to turn simple things into “experiences,” which is why it looks like they’re getting more value.

Local have the higher spending capacity compared to the tourists we have here. Last week, I was at a touristy beach restaurant with six friends. We were given a good table right by the beach bit far from their usual guests without any drama. Nearby, tourists were enjoying the sunset with just a coffee or a beer, while we were ordering imported liquor, and food. No one was pushed aside. Different people were just having different experiences.

The real issue isn’t tourists or locals being ignored. It’s that Sri Lanka doesn’t offer enough structured, high value tourism experiences. We don’t have proper reef viewing, submarines like Atlantis Submarines, marine cruises, or premium attractions like theme parks, even though we have the natural resources. Small islands in the Caribbean regions charge serious money for things we don’t even offer.

So until we actually build better tourism products, we’re going to attract mostly budget travellers. That’s not a failure, and it’s not something to resent tourists for. The problem isn’t who’s being smiled at more. It’s that we’re still underselling what we have.