Tangible rise in tourist arrivals

Hotels report 100 per cent occupancy:

Shihar Aneez

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan tourist arrivals have picked up in August thanks to international events and conferences that industry officials hope will help change perceptions about visitor safety.

Tourist arrivals fell 23.7 per cent in the first seven months of the year from the same period in 2006 to 268,963 visitors. However in August, the start of the peak tourist season, many hotels in the South and centre of the country were full, said Hiran Cooray, President of the Tourist Hotels Association.

"We can see an improvement in the occupancy rate during August-September. Rooms are 100 per cent occupied at the moment until the end of next month," Cooray said.

Sri Lanka is hoping events like a regional AIDS conference this week, a tea convention later this month, a counter-terrorism conference in October and an England cricket tour due later this year will help fill the void and change perceptions.

In his welcome speech at the International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific on Sunday, Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva thanked delegates for showing confidence in Sri Lanka as a convention destination.

"I appreciate (your) courage to break past undue fears, created by some elements through a misinformation campaign to impose a travel embargo on Sri Lanka," he said. According to Central Bank data, earnings from tourism in January to April fell by 14.8 per cent compared with last year to US$ 130.8 million.

Sri Lanka's Convention Bureau, responsible for bidding to host international meetings, conferences and exhibitions, is seeking to build up the island's profile in the event tourism niche.

"We have to convey the correct message to these organisations and delegates, saying that the conflict is there, but they are safe. They are not the target," the Bureau's General manager Vipula Wanigasekera said.

Reuters