Avurudu cheers hotels, credit cards
View(s):The tourism industry is gearing to cater to growing local demand during the Avurudhu holiday season with most Sri Lankans digging deep into their pockets and making use of generous credit card discounts. Hoteliers Association President Hiran Cooray told the Business Times that most Sri Lankans will look forward to the discounts as there is a huge increase in numbers from now to early July. Sri Lanka Payment Card Industry Chairman Jayanath Dias said the credit card business is booming during this season with the discounts and as a result of which there has been a growth in business through this payment facility by 10 per cent in April this year compared to the same period in 2015.
He noted that while they have not observed a change in spending patterns most Sri Lankans were noted to take up on the travel offers during this season. Commenting on whether these travellers would be mostly foreign or local it was pointed out that this would depend on individual banks as certain banks focus on local and others on foreign travel. Mr. Dias observed however that spending was higher during the December month as opposed to April due to school holidays, bonuses and working towards starting a new year. However, he advised customers against increasing spending and should ensure they were within their repayment capacity adding that “they need to understand that they need to pay back.”-(SD)