Hotel industry calls on authorities to address urgent issues

The hotel industry in Sri Lanka wants urgent issues resolved, including high taxation, availability of some products.They also want urgent steps taken to ensure tourists feel safe again following the recent violence in Kandy.

The tourism industry took a hit following the Kandy violence with travel advisories being issued and tourists cancelling or postponing bookings.

Vice President and General Manager of Shangri-La Hotel Colombo Timothy Wright told?the Colombo Gazette?that the Hotel Association is discussing the issue with the Tourism Ministry.

He said that Kandy is one of the must visit sites for international travelers, especially leisure travellers and the recent violence affected tourism in Kandy.

Timothy Wright said that while Colombo was not affected by the violence the hotels did take a hit.

Shangri-La Hotel Colombo which is promoted as a venue for international conferences saw a drop in bookings following the Kandy violence.

Wright said that the hotel industry hopes things will improve soon. Wright also noted that the high taxation is not helping the hotel industry in Sri Lanka.

He also said that when guests visit a hotel they expect everything to be made available. However Wright says not everything is available at times and this is a problem for the hotels which in turn can give a bad image to the country. (Colombo Gazette)