Hotels cater to surge in tourist arrivals

Lalin FERNANDOPULLE

The tourism industry is on a solid growth trajectory with the number of tourist arrivals expected to reach a record high this year which has been the best since the end of the conflict in 2009.

Experts are optimistic that the number of arrivals would surpass 750,000 and revenue would reach $ one b by the end of the year.

"2011 has been a good year for the tourism industry which has been recording a growth each month on a year-on-year (YoY) basis", an official of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau said. According to Sri Lanka Tourism, the number of tourist arrivals has risen YoY as the industry has set an ambitious target of attracting 2.5 m tourists and an annual revenue of $ 2.5 b by 2016.

The number of arrivals during the first eight months this year was 537,787, a 35.2 percent growth compared to the corresponding period last year.

Despite an off-peak month the number of arrivals in September was 61,000 which is a 28 percent growth compared to the corresponding month last year which recorded 47,000 tourists.

The number of visitors last month was less compared to the previous month which recorded 72,463 visitors due to the Kandy perahara and the Nallur festival.

Greening Sri Lanka Hotels Project Director/Consultant and Tourist Hotels Association Immediate Past President, Srilal Miththapala said prospects for tourism in Sri Lanka are excellent following decades of stagnation and struggle for survival.

"Strong growth has been recorded from countries emerging from several years of war and strife. Tourism in Sri Lanka is expected to reach dizzy heights due to the diverse attractions in the country", he said.

In spite of the arrival numbers showing a strong growth in the industry there is a controversy that the corresponding occupancy in hotels does not reflect the high arrival numbers.

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) tourists are those who travel and stay away from their environment for more than 24 hours not exceeding one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited.

Miththapala said there are two segments of visitors who fall into the category of visitors by virtue of the UNWTO definition but do not contribute to mainstream earnings.

Transit passengers and emigrants are not considered tourists who make a contribution to the earnings.

Transit passengers may use the connecting destination as a gateway to another, considering the profitability.

"Although emigrants are counted as tourists they are categorised as 'Visiting Friends and Relatives' (VFR) who stay with relatives and friends and do not directly contribute to hotel occupancy levels", Miththapala said.

The hotel occupancy rate is on the rise following the refurbishment of many properties across the country. Many city hotels were fully occupied during the festive months this year.