Sri Lanka tourism recovers at 'far below average' rate
Sri Lanka’s tourism sector, which has been taking successive hits ever since the Easter Sunday incidents in 2019, is recovering at a rate “far below average”, according to the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA).
Speaking to The Morning Business, SLTDA Chairman Priantha Fernando yesterday (27) stated: “Our recovery rate in the region is far below average: Asia’s general recovery rate is about 27-28%.”Fernando noted that other countries in the region are doing better. Thailand, for example, receives approximately 25,000-26,000 tourists per day, while Vietnam receives about 8,000-9,000 per day, whereas Sri Lanka, on average, receives merely under 2,000 tourists per day.
He pointed out that the airfare to Colombo alone is higher on average in comparison to other destinations in the region.“When you take the cost of booking a hotel in Sri Lanka, compared to Thailand, Indonesia, and so on, it is high.”
Fernando reiterated the fact that the tourism industry cannot accept the entirety of the blame for the low number of arrivals, as prices of all goods and services have risen “considerably” in Sri Lanka due to rising gas prices and increased transportation cost as a result of the soaring price of fuel.
Therefore, the SLTDA Chairman said, Sri Lanka needs to “seriously look at its strategies” in order to fast-track the revival of tourism operations, as the above-mentioned data indicates that the island has to put effort towards attracting more tourists to the country, despite the difficulty in doing so.
Fernando noted that even though some would say the island needs to attract high-end tourists, it must be noted that their expectations are also high, meaning the quality of the products and services has to be of the highest standard, noted Fernando.
“If it does meet their expectations, the long-term consequences will be far greater; as you know, social media is so powerful, and we must consider the damage it can do for the industry,” he elaborated.
He explained that although Sri Lanka has 47,000 rooms in order to cater to tourist accommodation demand, the number of rooms that could cater to high-end tourists only amounts to around 2,000-3,000. The rest of the rooms cater to tourists such as budget/economical travelers and backpackers.
Sri Lanka can build up this capacity over a period of time; however, an immediate switch cannot be made, as this has to be achieved through planning, targeting, and marketing for the maximum of the existing hotels, Fernando observed.
Responding to an inquiry by The Morning Business regarding Budget 2023’s contribution to the tourism sector’s revival, Fernando responded that there is nothing much has been allocated for tourism as such, adding: “We have to carve out our own contribution, such as foreign direct investments (FDIs) in the tourism sector, while there are many issues that we have to resolve.” He noted: “We have to restore confidence in the mindset of the investors in order to consider Sri Lanka.”
In the meantime, Sri Lanka Tourism also looks forward to improving domestic tourism, as the country “has neglected it in the past”, while in 2019 alone, there were over 8 million movements, but with the soaring airfares, holidaying in a foreign destination would be expensive. Thus, in December, the tourist industry needs to make an effort towards capitalizing on domestic tourism, such as offering day packages with lunch, said Fernando.
Source: Morning Newspaper
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