| Ups And Downs For Hotels Amidst Tourist Arrivals
Sri Lanka Tourist Development Authority (SLTDA) statistics show an increase in tourist arrivals to the country up to April this year - but has this increase also been reflected in the occupancy of hotels? According to the SLTDA, there has been an 18% growth in tourist arrivals to the country up until April, with a 9% increase in April 2012 alone, when it is compared with April 2011. Chairman, Jetwing Hotels, Hiran Cooray, also said that they had "ambitious plans" to expand, and that there was a significant increase in the numbers of those interested in investing in the hotel industry. Increasing investments aside, most hoteliers are of the view that, for a country planning to gain a target of 2. "The increase in tourist arrivals at the hotels, definitely in the first quarter of the year was quite evident, but last month (May) it was quite low. "The recruitment of trained staff has become a problem," said de Silva. Rodney Armstrong of the Kandy Hoteliers, also cited the recruitment and retaining of skilled staff as an issue hoteliers were struggling to deal with. President, Hoteliers of the South, Senaka de Silva, meanwhile said that tourist arrivals at hotels so far this year had reflected the "usual pattern". "At the same time, I am a bit worried about the situation. He went on to say that, "However, the revenue has, compared to last year, gone up dramatically by at least 30%. " Shanthikumar said that the imposing of minimum room rates has had a positive impact on "every single hotelier, one star to five star" and had also resulted in higher service charges, which had proven beneficial to staff. Anura Lokuhetty also pointed out that regardless of tourist arrivals at hotels, foreign exchange revenue from tourism has seen an increase. "The per guest per night expenditure has gone up. It might not be directly captured in the hotel sector, but it doesn't mean they aren't contributing. Chairman, SLTDA, Nalaka Godahewa, said that "We have so far approved 138 projects of which 83 are final approvals, while the others have not yet completed Environmental Impact Assessment, which is a legal requirement. He also said that the entry of even non-hoteliers into this industry "is a good thing, because for the last twenty years the industry was stagnant. According to M. Shanthikumar, this problem results partly from the hotel school not producing sufficient trained staff to meet industry demands. 5 million, then definitely the number of hotel rooms should be increased," said CEO, and Sector Head of Sri Lankan Resorts, for John Keells, Jayantissa Kehelpannala. Sri Lanka is no more a cheap destination. We are earning around USD 99 per guest per night, so compared to Malaysia and Thailand, we are ahead of them," he said. "This may be due to a drop in the numbers of European tourists, we aren't sure of the reason yet," he said, noting that there has even been a fall in the numbers of domestic tourists. "In April, it was almost the same, and in May, there has been a slight drop, of about 10%. Hotels in different parts of the island have experienced varying occupancy levels. President, Colombo City Tourist Hotels Association, M. We have about 8,000 rooms in the informal sector," Lokuhetty said. |
Sunday, 10 June 2012
Ups And Downs For Hotels Amidst Tourist Arrivals
