The number of hotel rooms will go up to around 45,000 in a couple of years, which will help cater to a larger number of visitors, Minister of Tourism Development John, Amaratunga told the media at the launch of the Tourism Leaders’ Summit and International Research Symposium 2017 in Colombo last week. He said hotels are being built at every nook and corner of Colombo which is a sign that the tourism industry is up for better times. “We could see ground breaking ceremonies almost daily in the city, which will help add more rooms to the industry.” “Measures have been taken to look into the congestion issue in the city and address the garbage and dengue issue.
The garbage crisis and the dengue issue will be solved soon. These are common issues and they are passing phases in life,” the minister said. The minister also said there had been cancellation of tourists visits this year. However, the minister did not site the reasons for the cancellation.
The tourism industry targets 2.5 million visitors this year. The industry has recorded around 1.2 million visitors by mid this year.
However the number of visitors to Sri Lanka is abysmal compared to Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and Singapore. Thailand attracts over 25 million and Cambodia around 5 million visitors a year. “I cannot understand why Sri Lanka cannot attract more travellers when it has more attractions compared to most of the tourists destinations in the region. We must make use of the comparative advantage and market the destination,” Amaratunga said.
The minister said that he visited a South East Asian country that attracts more visitors and said that Sri Lanka has better attractions and the potential to be a better destination for travellers.
Sri Lanka Tourism tied up with the University of Colombo in hosting the Tourism Leaders’ Summit and Research Symposium which will be held at the BMICH from October 3-4. The University offers courses leading up Masters in hotel and hospitality management. University of Colombo Founder and Coordinator of Masters in Tourism Economics and Hotel Management Dr. D.A.C Suranga said that plans are afoot to launch a degree program in hotel and tourism and promote qualifications in the tourism industry. “The symposium will enable to create a common platform for academics and professionals to design practical and tactical strategies to develop the industry,’ he said. -- LF