|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 16 May 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Business |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Infrastructure facilities to be developed in eight zones: SLTB targets 650,000 arrivals this year Developing Infrastructure such as air travel, accommodation, marketing and human resources are vital to attract high spending tourists and they would result in increased earnings.
According to the 2003 Annual Report of the Central Bank, though several steps have been taken to develop infrastructure facilities, some bottlenecks still persist in the areas of developing of roads, electricity and communications. In 2003 the country was able to exceed the target of 500,000 arrivals and reached 500,462. It is the highest number of arrivals recorded in Sri Lanka so far an increase of 27.3 percent. The reasons for this trend are the ceasefire, peace negotiations and the recovery in the world economy. Gross earnings from the industry increased by 39percent last year. The Sri Lanka Tourist Board expects to achieve a target of 650,000 tourist arrivals this year. This would exhaust existing room capacity and other infrastructure facilities, particularly during the peak season. In December 2003 room occupancy rates increased to 77 percent in the Colombo city, 64percent in the ancient cities and the Southern coast. Insufficient flight frequency and seating capacity were major constraints faced by the industry. To increase accommodation (SLTB) identified several locations to develop tourist resorts. Under the South West Coast Tourism and Community Infrastructure Development Project funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), eight zones in the south west coast were selected to develop with infrastructure facilities. Two thousand acres of marshy land with inland water bodies in the Dedduwa and Marawila area were identified to be developed as a major eco-tourism sites. A Board of Investment (BOI) project aiming at converting old mansions and state bungalows for tourist accommodation is also in place. As there are seasonal variations in tourist arrivals, promotional campaigns have been carried out by the SLTB and private tour organisers to promote Asian tourism to utilise existing capacity during off peak seasons. The main target markets are India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia and China. Sri Lanka was identified as an official destination by China in 2002 and the private sector responded positively by initiating promotional campaigns last year. This gives access to a large and fast growing market. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
