Tourism sector earns US$ 2.38 billion for the first 08 months in 2019
In the second quarter of 2019, 16 new hotel projects worth USD 23.30 million were approved by Sri Lanka’s tourism regulator, most of which did not begin building after the terror of Easter Sunday, official information showed.
A study from the Sri Lankan Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) said that all these new hotels authorized will have less than 49 rooms each. Four authorized hotels are located in the district of Gampaha, north of the capital Colombo, whereas three are located in the regions of Galle and Matara, on Sri Lanka’s southern shore.
By spending Rs. 1.5 billion, the Sri Lankan Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) is working aggressively to support Sri Lanka. To this end, five clusters have been recognized that produce the most substantial amount of arrivals, including nations such as the United States, UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Belgium, with more focus on the European market.
The goal of concentrating attention on the European economy is that they are considered as visitors with high expenditure. With the implementation of a visa-free system, Indian tourists grew while Chinese tourist arrivals registered a reduction. Compared to last year, foreign tour operators are predicting a 50 percent fall in winter bookings. The priority is efficient marketing, PR, and communication plan for our traditional markets and Asian giants, India and China.
Further, Sri Lanka gained more than Rs.10 billion (US$ 55 million) from visitors attending the Colombo Bohra Conference. Colombo’s prices of hotels and luxury flats rose by 20 to 80 percent as a result of the Bohras World Conference. Tourists stayed in more than 3000 rooms in Colombo hotels, including the leading luxury hotels, according to the tourism official, and some of the respondents remain in the tourist hotels.
Tourism sector gained US$ 2.38 billion from US$ 2.97 billion a year earlier for the first 08 months of the year, reflecting the same trend as tourist arrivals to the nation.
Sri Lanka welcomed 1,267,737 international tourists to the country during the first eight months of this year, down 19.9 percent from 1,582,835 a year previously.
OSL Take:
Tourism authorities in Sri Lanka are involved in ongoing upgrades to guarantee that the tourism industry in the country is on an equal footing with global norms. The most exceptional facilities are given to tourism stakeholders in the country as well as to international travelers visiting the island. The tourism industry in Sri Lanka is steadily growing with tourist arrivals to the nation recording month-on-month development despite the setback in April following the Easter Sunday assaults. In several important worldwide travel journals, Sri Lanka continues to keep the top spot as the year’s target. All of this has led to the development of business/investment possibilities in the tourism industry in Sri Lanka.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/07102019/Z_T2 |