Tourism sources predict a strong winter tourist season in 2024, surpassing the figures recorded in 2023 by over 10%, claiming that the prevailing weather conditions are unlikely to have an impact.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) President M. Shanthikumar claimed that while the prevailing adverse weather conditions would prove to be a near-term concern for tourists, it would not impact the winter season as a whole.
He pointed out that bad weather was something that happened throughout the world.
He however admitted that tourism during the winter season was largely concentrated along the coastal regions and could thus be affected by the rough seas caused by the current weather conditions.
Nevertheless, he claimed that tourists who were currently in the country had not raised any concerns over the adverse weather conditions at present.
Shanthikumar further stated that despite the current weather conditions, tourist arrivals into the country continued to be on the rise and would surpass last year’s winter figures by at least 10%.
He further noted that they expected resorts to have an occupancy rate of around 70% during the winter season, while city hotels would see an occupancy rate of around 60%.
Similar sentiments were echoed by Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Acting Director General Upali Ratnayake, who stated that any impact from the ongoing adverse conditions on winter season tourism would be minimal.
Ratnayake added that the Government and the SLTDA were committed to addressing any issues tourists would face in the country and would accordingly take all necessary actions.
“Typically, December is characterised by rain as this is the monsoon season. We generally see rain from the end of November and during December.
“We saw this last year as well; it is not something strange. However, this time we are seeing some storm-like conditions,” he said.
