Bad for business: Sri Lanka’s political crisis sees work travellers bypass tourism
- Tour operators and hotels are feeling the pain as the country’s political turmoil keeps visitors away
Pamuditha Fernando, owner of Colombo-based tour company Ceylon Trails, has seen his takings for the last two weeks drop by 1 million rupees (US$5,564) – or 90 per cent – compared to the previous fortnight.
He blames Sri Lanka’s protracted political crisis for his customers – people attending meetings and conferences with spare time for a daily excursion to the cities of Galle or Kandy – slowing to a trickle.
“We are a small company and bigger companies may be able to bear a loss of 1 million rupees in two weeks, but it is harder for us … a lot of my clients are walk-ins who are here on business,” said Fernando.
While the nation’s tourism numbers still look strong – government figures show there have been 2,276,200 tourist arrivals this year, as of November, already surpassing the 2017 total of 2,166,407 – business visits have declined, said Sanath Ukwatte, president of The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka and owner of the Mount Lavinia Hotel.
“A lot of the business travellers, I would estimate about 55 per cent of them, come to do business with the government,” he said.
