The New Year and Easter season was a rather dull period for city hotels as the mood of holiday makers shifted towards religious and national events based in villages.
City hotel operators said each year they have to go through a lull period along with many challenges due to lack of staff who go on leave during the festive season.
Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) President Sanath Ukwatte said the Avurudu season was a challenging time for city hotels as almost all business houses were closed for the holidays and there was a decline in corporate business in the city.
He said unlike other years this time Good Friday fell on the same day of the Sinhala and Hindu New Year which resulted in a shortage of staff as there was an unusually high request for leave.
However, city hoteliers said the leisure industry has shown a significant improvement during the past two years with the number of visitors growing at a record high.
“With almost 2.2 million visitor arrivals and US$ 3 billion earnings in 2016 the industry is confident of reaching US$ 5 billion revenue target by year 2020,” Ukwatte said.
He said to achieve this feat Sri Lanka Tourism should launch its international promotional campaign immediately. All these positive trends will translate into creating direct employment for nearly 275,000 by 2020 and indirect employment for nearly 2 million which represents 10% of our total population.
With regard to the impact of the airport closure during the first three months this year city hoteliers said there has not been a major impact due to the closure of the BIA compared to the same period last year.
However, the growth in the number of visitors has been stagnant during this period due to the partial closure of the airport for the runway repair.
“Total earnings have not shown a major decline compared to corresponding months of last year. This is mainly due to the seasonal rates charged by resorts as well as city hotels. We are confident that according to forward bookings and increase in air capacity to Colombo by Middle Eastern airlines and European carriers 2017 will be yet another record year for Sri Lankan Tourism,” Ukwatte said.
City hotel operators said the new hotels that are being build in the city such as the Shangri La and the port city which will take some time to come into operation, will add value to the city and the tourism industry.
“The Port City is still on the distant horizon. It will take another few more years to complete. But the presence of Shangri La and other International brands will add tremendous value to the city and the tourism industry as a whole. It will not only strengthen our image but bring in a new dimension to hotel operation in the city. In my opinion presence of International Hotel Brands will enable us to attract a new clientele to the country,” Ukwatte said. Hoteliers said thewhat is more challenging is the lack of skilled personal to develop the leisure industry further.
“Human resource is the main challenge for our hotels. We need to attract more people to fill vacancies that are available in the industry, both at executive and non-executive grades.
“THASL with member hotels are planning a major awareness campaign to attract school leavers to join the industry. Tourism is for young people and it is a fun industry to be in. “With increased service charges and other perks there is a renewed interest for youth to engage in the industry. The growing presence of international brands has helped us to attract young blood into the industry,” Ukwatte said. City hoteliers also noted that for city hotels to attract more visitors we need more entertainment in the city. At the moment we have only one main museum.
“We need more museums and art galleries, which are professionally curated and showcase our arts, crafts and culture. We have, in the country a huge pool of up and coming artists and a contemporary art museum of international stature will help these artists to showcase their talents,” Ukwatte said. “With the development of Port City we should also aim at attracting super-yacht owners and marine leisure enthusiasts by making Colombo a marine hub of Asia,” he said.