News
Hoteliers expect Chinese visitors to return
View(s):By Sohan Vipulananda
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is expecting the return of tourists from China once inbound restrictions are lifted from today.
Quarantine requirements are also being eased after three years in the grip of the coronavirus disease pandemic, which first emerged in Wuhan, China.
International passenger flights will be increased in stages, the communist state media has reported. Inbound visitors will not need to apply for a health code. Nucleic acid tests for international visitors will not be imposed from today. Quarantine-free travel between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong is also resuming today, based on a quota of 60,000 a day.
In Sri Lanka, the Chinese visitors will only need to show a negative coronavirus disease test result obtained within 48 hours before departure.
Sri Lanka welcomed nearly 720,000 tourists last year. Most visitors came from India (17%), Russia (13%) and the United Kingdom (12%). Only 150,000 Chinese visited in 2019 and there were none after that.
The president of the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO), Nishad Wijetunga said local destination management companies that cover the Chinese market are in touch with their counterparts to attract visitors.
“It will no doubt augur well for Sri Lanka tourism if Chinese tourists come back,” Mr. Wijetunga said.
Commenting about tourists from other countries, other than Indians and Russians Mr. Wijetunga said that unfortunately, during the booking period between June and September in 2022, there were adverse travel advisories against Sri Lanka.
Last month, Sri Lanka was only able to attract 8,000 from Europe, compared with about 20,000 Russians.
“We are seeing a trickle of bookings now for the remainder of the winter (February to April).’’
Reports say there are still a few adverse advisories, such as from Germany and Australia. There are also complaints that Russian tourists do not spend much and live in rented houses instead of in hotels.
The SLAITO says this is partly good for the informal sector, but does not benefit Government coffers in terms of tax revenue.
The Sunday Times learns that the majority are ‘beach-only’ tourists who tend to stay put on the beach along the south and south-west coasts.
The chairman of the Down South Hoteliers Association, Senaka De Silva, said there had not been many Chinese visitors. Tourism had not picked up overall, he said. “We hope that the Chinese will not be like the Russians.’’
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