A fifty percent drop in tourists arrivals has been reordered in the first three weeks of this month over the month of March.
A Tourism Ministry Spokesman said that present mass protests and economic crisis prevailing in the country are the reasons for this drop in tourists arrivals. Thus, the entire tourism industry will have to face major challenges in the future.
Since the major star class hotels are located in the Galle Face area, tourists do not like to stay there due to the protests currently underway with the participation of a large number of people at Galle Face. Most tourists have cancelled their bookings in Colombo and moved to outstations or other South Asian countries like the Maldives,” he added.
He said, the average tourism arrivals which were around 4,000 per day have also reduced to around 2,000 in April due to street protests, lack of fuel,gas, escalating prices of essential items and long queues.
A total of 55,590 tourists have visited the country during the period from April 1 to 26 while 106,500 international visitors have arrived in the country in March, which has been the highest for the year so far.
by Daily News Sri Lanka
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