Travellers to Sri Lanka are slowing down with arrivals in July and August expected to drop as a result of several concerns raised by the industry that remain unresolved.
The industry warns that if their concerns related to the issuance of visas under the new VFS online system are not resolved the number of arrivals will continue to tumble.
Lack of growth in arrivals is likely to affect the numbers as the industry has already witnessed a drop in May and June against forecasted arrivals, Hoteliers Association President M. Shanthikumar told the Business Times.
He noted that in July they did not see a high growth and it was too early for him to comment on arrivals in August. He pointed out that the industry is in discussion with authorities regarding these concerns and expects them to resolve these concerns.
Obtaining a visa to Sri Lanka is right now the main issue for travellers and they are complaining about the confusion as the current system is complicated, Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators President Nishad Wijetunga said.
He pointed out that it is the additional handling fee meant for the VFS that has become a concern as this did not happen in the past under the old system.
Mr. Wijetunga said that it would be helpful if the authorities could revert to the old system of issuing visas at least only for tourists.
In addition there has been a notable drop in Russian traffic in May compared to last year with the arrivals dropping by 43.5 per cent from 7760 in 2023 to 4384 in May this year.
While some in the industry blame it on the increased hotel rates that have led to the drop in arrivals, others however point out that this is due to the high cost of handling charges imposed at the airport.
Mr. Wijetunga noted that they were also concerned that the conversion rate imposed by the Central Cultural Fund was also not favourable to the industry that has also been added a further 18 per cent VAT.
“We feel that it won’t get to two million due to visa and Russian charters dropping,” he said. Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority is currently targeting 2.5 million tourist arrivals by the end of this year.
Source: Sunday Times
