Lanka's star-class rooms to increase by 10,000

Shirajiv Sirimane

INCREASE: Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourist Board (SLTB) Udaya Nanayakkara said that Sri Lanka will have 10,000 additional star-class rooms in three years time increasing the country's total star-class room strength to 25,000. This is to accommodate 10,000 projected arrivals in 2010.

He said that this would include 3,000 star-class rooms in the proposed Kalpitiya up-market resort while another 1,000 would come up from the Dedduwa (Bentota) resort.

"In addition many five star hotels including Galle Face Hotel, Oberoi, Taj in the City, which had part of their wings shut down are once again being refurbished and reopened, and this too would add to the current room strength," he said.

He said that they would also be actively participating in the forthcoming World Travel Market (WTM) in London from November 6 to 9 and new marketing initiatives have enabled them to reduce cost to Rs. 42 million.

Last year the SLTB invested RS. 35 million towards the WTM. "We saved Rs. 28 million by going in for an open air concept," he said. The UK arrivals last year was 94,629 and September it was 72,236. This year the target is over 100,000.

Nanayakkara said that the SLTB would bear 81 percent from this cost.

Total tourist arrivals since September have increased by 9.5 percent with the German market increasing by 17 percent and while Sweden arrivals increased by 50 percent.

Total arrivals in 2005 September were 405,585 while this year the September arrivals were at 443,972.

"Our target for the end of the year is 600,000 arrivals and the average expenditure of one tourist is around US $ 84," he said. "We hope to increase the spending of a tourist to a tune of US $ 155 in three years," he said.

When asked how the tourist arrival figures are being calculated as the related Travel Associations are questioning the authenticity of them he said the figures are being calculated according to international regulations.

"According to the World Tourist Organisation, a visitor to Sri Lanka who reserves a bed in a hotel and stays for 24 hours is classified as a tourist and SLTB prepares statistics according to this," Nanayakkara said.