Sri Lanka: It’s sink or swim
COLOMBO: A crisis meeting held by tourism leaders in Sri Lanka has resolved to try new initiatives to entice visitors back to the country.
The move comes in response to a proposed night curfew at Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport, starting May 10, which is expected to impact on the number of flights into the airport.
The Sri Lankan government has introduced an operating curfew between 9pm and 5am daily
The ban is being imposed after several airlines suspended flights to Colombo, or re-scheduled their services, following an attempted air raid on the Sri Lankan capital by Tamil Tigers.
“We have gone from bad to worse but rather than grumble we need to move on, retain staff and keep the hotels going,” said Hiran Cooray, president of the Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL).
THASL will target promotions to elderly Sri Lankans and expatriate Sri Lankans to fill up hotel rooms. It also hopes to attract more short-haul business from Asia and the Middle East.
Cooray said the Tourism Ministry and the Tourist Board were working together in a “sink or swim together scenario”.
“We all have one common goal – to overcome this crisis and move to the next level,” he said.
“You can’t plan anything because you don’t know what would happen. We have to put on a brave face and move on.”
Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourist Board Renton de Alwis told the local Sunday Times newspaper that he welcomed the night curfew as the move was a “proactive one to ensure that we address the safety concerns of all our operators in all sectors of the tourism industry”.
He said Sri Lanka has always acted responsibly in placing the highest priority on the safety aspects. “Although this may cause some degree of inconvenience to some passengers and airlines in making connections, the positive impact of having addressed the safety issue far outweighs all of that,” De Alwis said.
Emirates airline plans to increase its stake in SriLankan Airlines from its current 43 per cent holding. Talks between Emirates and the government of Sri Lanka are expected this month.
Ian Jarrett
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