ECONOMYNEXT – Stakeholders in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry say the island nation is ready to receive tourists as usual in the Winter season as Cyclone Ditwah-hit devastation has minimal damage on the tourism infrastructure.
However, the Tourism authorities are yet to assess the full damage to hotels, though they have proposed some post-disaster beneficiary scheme including providing financial support to affected hoteliers.
The disaster has killed more than 450 people while the rescue operation is continuing mainly in the central Sri Lankan districts of Kandy and Nuwara Eliya, the two popular tourist destinations.
“Hotels are fully operational. We do have some issues with Kandy and Nuwara Eliya. Access to Nuwara Eliya will be restored within the next couple of days. There is already access for single lane vehicular traffic,” Asoka Hettigoda, President of The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) told reporters in Colombo at a media briefing organized by the government.
“We are currently enjoying about 65-70% occupancy and we do see a few cancellations that took place in the last few days, but we hope and we want to convey the message to the world that we are back to normal,” he said.
He also said there were no tourists stranded in the country.
“We have given an assurance that we have no shortage of food. We are running with full electricity, access to water.
He also said 90 percent of our tourism product is now back to normal and the industry is still assessing the damage.
“We hope that we get the support of tourists by visiting Sri Lanka and support us in our restructuring.”
Buddhika Hewawasam, Chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority said the majority of tourism attractions in the country including beaches, wildlife sites, national parks, forest and cultural sites are open and operational.
“There were no tourists have been affected by this natural calamity. We have ensured their safety,” Hewawasam said.
“We are expecting a high reception of tourism this year.”
The Guardian on Tuesday reported two British women being stranded by landslides in Sri Lanka’s tea mountains and are running out of food and water.
Hewawasam said the authorities have handled 269 tourists who had been stranded in disaster-hit areas.
“The most difficult areas are Nuwara Eliya and Gampola. There are some hotels. But still we have been able to rescue them with the support of the Air Force.”
Nalin Jayasundara, President of Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) said the country will see a better winter season this time compared to the last year though there could be a slight dip up until December 2015.
“We received a few cancellations after the incident, but it is negligible.” (Colombo/December 03/2025)
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