More hotels to re-open in Sri Lanka
A further ten hotels in Sri Lanka damaged by the Boxing Day tsunami will re-open by the beginning of the winter season in November, tourist officials have said.
It will leave only seven of the 48 damaged properties still out of action as the island attempts to restore consumer confidence.
Sri Lanka Tourist Board chairman Udaya Nanayakkara predicted the growth in visitor numbers will hit double figures by the time of World Travel Market in November.
“It was a tragic year for us in 2004 but tourism is an extremely resilient industry and we are working hard to ensure that the buoyancy experienced up until the final days of last year will return in the shortest possible time,” he said.
Nanayakkara said its presence at World Travel Market will play a key role in Sri Lanka’s turnaround.
The most recent of the upmarket properties to announce its re-opening was the Apa Villa at Thalpe Beach which is scheduled to welcome back tourists on October 1.
Saffrons Beach Villa, a new four-suite luxury property at Habaradua, will also open on December 1 while construction has began on the Hyatt Regency Colombo with a planned opening date of December 2008.
Report by Steve Jones
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