Hotel rooms to surpass 22,000 :

Economic surge to spur tourism

Harshini PERERA

The total number of hotel rooms in the country is expected to grow from about 15,000 at present to 22,000 this year.

Nivard Cabraal

According to the Sri Lanka Tourist Board, it is also expected to earn US$ 2 billion annually in tourist revenue by 2016. It was US$ 350 million last year.

"The construction of new hotels in various areas will sustain Government expectations to have 2.5 million visitors by 2016, up from 447, 890 in 2009, Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said. He laid the foundation for the Hotel Nallur in Jaffna last Monday.

"The construction of Hotel Nallur in Jaffna by Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka (MBSL) will be a real private sector initiative to bring development to the stressed areas in the country," he said.

The economic surge in the area is expected to result in various other spurs in development projects. MBSL has set the necessary impetus to the business world and an example in the development process. Cabraal said that the fast tracking of development projects will be a necessity in today's economy though it seems difficult to receive finances for them. Sri Lanka could double the per capita in another five years and that ensures the fast delivery of development projects for the benefit of people in the area. Sri Lanka Tourist Board has indicated that 50,000 accommodation facilities are needed in 2016 to cater to the foreign and local tourists.

MBSL Chairman Janaka Ratnayaka said MBSL decided to extend its expertise to manage liable financial institutions initially under the difficult circumstances and since then positive results have begun to emerge. At present MBSL manages around Rs 40 billion liabilities of these financial institutions.

The new venture into the hotel sector will also be a success and a catalyst for growth and economic resurgence in Jaffna.