News
Slump in local tourist numbers in the heart of Avurudu season
View(s):By Wasantha Ramanayake
Most resorts and out-station hotels across Sri Lanka are facing a sharp drop in bookings, particularly from domestic tourists, due to fuel shortages, soaring prices, and a higher cost of living during the festive month of April. Hotel managers say there are few inquiries converting to reservations, even with promotions, forcing tough decisions like unpaid leave for staff and laying off of casual workers.
Bandarwela Orient Hotel general manager Chandima Lokuhetti told the Sunday Times that inquiries from local clients for reservations had not been confirmed. “There had been some enquiries for stays in the hotel, but none of them were converted into bookings,” he said. He added that they had advertised credit card promotions with special rates for April, but while some inquiries came in, none turned into bookings.
Bookings at hotels by both foreign and local tourists have been comparatively low
He stressed the need for intervention of the government and called for aggressive promotional campaigns to lure tourists from alternative markets and more direct flights to bring tourists from countries such as the UK, Germany and Australia.
He noted that a small number of foreign tourists had booked rooms, but the figure was comparatively low. According to the general manager, although they could run the hotel profitably in April, he was unsure about May and June as it is the low season.
An executive in a tourist hotel in Anuradhapura also pointed out that very few inquiries had been received from local customers. Last year, during the same period around New Year (also school holidays), more local tourists stayed at the hotel. “This is due to the fuel shortages and price increases—usually, people travel out and stay in hotels during New Year,” she explained.
A hotel employee in Dambulla said that a number of employees had been given unpaid leave to cope with lower occupancy rates. “We are unable to survive because the operations are no longer profitable, and we’re incurring losses if we continue business as usual. The management encouraged employees to take unpaid annual leave. The number of employees on no-pay leave could see an increase in May, as we will experience even lower occupancy rates in May and June.”
The resident manager of a Kandy tourist hotel that belonged to a reputed local hotel chain told the Sunday Times that they were finding it difficult to even maintain a break-even situation, as overhead charges including taxes were higher. Though they did not wish to lay off employees, there could be a scenario of putting people on annual leave and laying off casual employees and operate the hotels with a minimum number of employees. “We don’t want to lay them off, but we need to assess the situation, before taking any decision,” he explained.
On top of that, there had many cancellations from Russia, while local bookings too were very few for the New Year. “This could be a direct result of the war. Both domestic and international tourists are reluctant to travel because of the economic pressures on them, the fuel crisis, and higher fuel prices.”
“Although it is the Sinhala and Hindu New Year period, there has been a drastic reduction in the number of domestic tourist reservations when compared to the last two years” he pointed out. “Our hotel in Nuwara Eliya has is facing a far worse situation than the hotel in Kandy.”
The Grand Hotel in Nuwara Eliya, one of the most popular heritage hotels in the country, experienced a different scenario. Resident manager Nazeem Mohamed said that the festive season was good as there are a good number of reservations by local tourists. “Grand Hotel has a particular repeat clientele and we don’t experience any decrease in domestic tourists, and we are doing all the Sinhala and Hindu new year customs and activities for our guests as usual,” he told the Sunday Times.
However, he said the number of activities organised during the New Year season are less in Nuwara Eliya than in the previous year.
Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairperson Buddhika Hewawasm told the Sunday Times that he is not aware of any decrease in domestic tourism during the month of April. However he believed the decrease in the number of domestic tourists could be due to the increase of fuel prices and various other commodities. “However, We see that inbound numbers have not dropped that much,” he asserted.
Commenting on airline ticket prices, the chairman said that prices had increased 70% although there aren’t any flight cancellations. He said that jet fuel prices had significantly increased. According to media reports jet fuel prices had doubled since February and some leading lines are resorting to flight cancellations in order to reduce operational costs.
As the Sunday Times reported last week, hoteliers and travel agents want to expedite marketing campaigns to attract more tourists from South Asia, Southeast Asia, China, Australia, and New Zealand. They urged the government to bypass standard procedures and fast-track these campaigns.
In respect of foreign tourist arrivals, the chairperson said that altogether there has been a decline by 2500 in the number of daily tourist arrivals in the aftermath of the war, about 5000 daily tourist arrivals are recorded everyday.
In order to increase the number of tourist arrivals, the SLTDA has already started promotions in Bangladesh. They would soon commence promotions in Gujarat and Karnataka in India as well as in some of the main cities in China from this week. The promotions in South Korea will start thereafter, and would be extended to Indonesia and Thailand . The year-on-year increase in the number of tourist arrivals from China is 25%, revealed the chairperson. Promotions are also being done in Australia and New Zealand as well, he added. According to the chairperson these ongoing promotions have country specific targets.
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