SL has no ‘up-market tourist plan’

As the battle between two factions in the hotel industry boiled up following the resignation of Tourist Board Chairman Dr. Nalaka Godahewa, a fresh issue had erupted and questions were being asked why Sri Lanka had not developed an up-market tourism plan, highly placed tourist industry sources disclosed to The Nation.

Sources said one faction was alleging that there was no level playing field in the industry as certain hotels were not categorized under the minimum room rates ceiling. They claimed the inability to develop an up-market tourist plan had opened the doors for Maldives to fair better than Sri Lanka.

Top economist Prof. Srimal Abeyratne noted that East Asian countries like Vietnam and Cambodia were better placed in the industry than Sri Lanka. Abeyratne said there were only two hundred ‘top-end rooms’, which were totally inadequate to attract up-market tourists and added the industry needed a facelift in that direction.

He further said that Singapore with a population of 4.5 million people had attracted 13 million tourists annually. “On the contrary, Sri Lanka with a 20 million population should at least look at attracting 10 million tourists annually,” Abeyratne stressed.

Sourced: nation