Hotels get ready for festive season

City and outstations hotels are gearing up for the festive season with exciting programs to entice holiday makers.

With Christmas round the corner many hotels have already made arrangements for Christmas eve, Christmas day, New Year's eve and New Year's day festivities to entertain local and foreign merry-makers.

City Hotels Association President Shanthi Kumar said that many hotels have an occupancy rate of over 65 percent and added that the number of visitors will increase with the approach of Christmas and the New Year.

“We anticipate the hotel room occupancy rate to be around 75 percent with the number of rooms in city hotels being increased by around 800 this year,” Kumar said.

The number of tourist arrivals has recorded a year-on-year growth and the number of visitors is expected to reach around 1.5 million by the end of this year. The number of visitors last year was around 1.2 million.Kumar said that the hotel rooms rates in the country are competitive as each hotel has unique products for visitors. The room rate ranges from US$ 75 at three star hotels to US$ 125 per day in five-star hotels.

Each hotel has its own theme products to woo visitors for the festive season. The Christmas eve and Christmas day buffet, dances and the New Year's eve dinner dances with popular DJs and bands are some of the attractions of the festive season. Jetwing Hotels Chairman Hiran Cooray said that the occupancy rate in hotels is between 70-80 percent and added that the occupancy rate was the same last year.

Hilton Colombo, Marketing Communication Manager Gigi de Silva said that there are many happenings at the hotel restaurant on Christmas eve, Christmas day and 31st night with music from the eighties to date.