Colombo’s sunshine too hot for tourists
View(s):Colombo city hoteliers are finding it difficult to fill their rooms this summer due to at least a 25 per cent drop in tourist arrivals in the first two months for the season with less Indians visiting the country, hoteliers said.
A drop in arrivals was recorded in April by about 15 per cent and by at least 10 per cent in the first half of May, City Hoteliers Association President K. Shanthikumar told the Business Times on Thursday.
He said, in this respect, city hotels have forecasted a 10 per cent drop in arrivals this summer attributed to the low arrivals from the Indian market especially Chennai. Mr. Shanthikumar observed that at least 90 per cent of the Indian arrivals stay in the Colombo city hotels. Moreover, arrivals from the feeder markets of Europe and UK were less due to the recession there, it was claimed. However, he expects this drop to pick up soon at the conclusion of the mega tourism promotional campaign currently underway in Mumbai. Cinnamon Lakeside General Manager Denis Gruhier told the Business Times that currently there was an “occupancy contraction in the city” in April.
However, he noted that they continue to enjoy a reasonable level of occupancy which is right now at 55 per cent.
Reasons for this low season were attributed to no special events in Colombo to lure more tourists to the country during the summer similar to the England cricket tour last year, Mr. Gruhier explained.
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