Travellers to Sri Lanka are set to increase by about 25% this summer when most hotels will be carrying out refurbishments in a bid to be ready for the upcoming winter projected to witness a peak in holidaymakers.
May to October period is projected to see an increase in arrivals compared to last year with India, Malaysia, the Middle East and Thailand set to generate the most number of visitors during this summer, Tourist Hoteliers Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) President Anura Lokuhetty told the Business Times.
The main reason for this is the pricing that is relatively attractive with promotional campaigns initiated to attract more visitors during this period of the year.
These visitors are set to find themselves being housed even in home stays that is likely to be able to accommodate them as about 1000 rooms islandwide will be closed for refurbishments in about 15-20 hotels. This is expected to cost approximately over US$10 million. Sri Lanka has a total of 22000 rooms.
Home stays are said to be attractive as they provide the perfect environment that visitors would enjoy to know the country better at their leisure, it was explained.
This has become a requisite as about 80-90% of the country’s hotels have been constructed before 1990s and as a result refurbishment is necessary for survival in the industry, he said.
With rate increases Sri Lanka needs to be extremely careful in view of the limited number of rooms it can boast of compared to some of the more lucrative tourism generating countries in the region, Mr Lokuhetty pointed out.
He noted that over pricing of the product could result in a decline in tourist arrivals but today the market is serving at the right price at an average of US$90 per night.
The industry is currently looking forward to increased tourism promotion carried out on a national level as more concentration is on product development and not marketing.
In this respect, Mr. Lokuhetty observed that they could do a little better but was cautious to note that they had “not much to complain about.”
Promotions currently organized by Sri Lanka Tourism are targeted at bringing down about 200 journalists this year and new travel operators in addition to web marketing already carried out. |
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