Four global conferences to be hosted by Sri Lanka later this year have been cancelled on security fears, though the government is confident it can woo at least half a million tourists by December. The events, including a textile conference, were to host at least a thousand people.
But hotels in the Colombo city and its suburbs are full with athletes’ and visitors for the South Asian Games hosted by Sri Lanka, which ends on August 28.
Numbers of tourists are counted based on foreign passport holders who enter the country and stay for more than 24 hours, in line with international definitions.
Arrivals can be misleading with the industry estimating about 10 to 20 percent of Indian arrivals – Sri Lanka’s biggest tourist market -- to be traders who do not stay in hotels, but in private lodgings around Colombo.
Tour operators report a slowdown in inquiries and new bookings from Europe for the peak winter season in November.
Sri Lanka has also been trying to pitch the island as an ideal location for meetings, exhibitions, conferences and other business travel.
Resorts outside of Colombo are feeling the pinch, Ramanujam says, with top markets like the United Kingdom, Germany and France also jittery.
The United Kingdom is Sri Lanka’s second biggest tourist market after India, with Britons spending over 21 billion sterling pounds a year on holidays.
But hotels in the Colombo city and its suburbs are full with athletes’ and visitors for the South Asian Games hosted by Sri Lanka, which ends on August 28.
Numbers of tourists are counted based on foreign passport holders who enter the country and stay for more than 24 hours, in line with international definitions.
Arrivals can be misleading with the industry estimating about 10 to 20 percent of Indian arrivals – Sri Lanka’s biggest tourist market -- to be traders who do not stay in hotels, but in private lodgings around Colombo.
Tour operators report a slowdown in inquiries and new bookings from Europe for the peak winter season in November.
Sri Lanka has also been trying to pitch the island as an ideal location for meetings, exhibitions, conferences and other business travel.
Resorts outside of Colombo are feeling the pinch, Ramanujam says, with top markets like the United Kingdom, Germany and France also jittery.
The United Kingdom is Sri Lanka’s second biggest tourist market after India, with Britons spending over 21 billion sterling pounds a year on holidays.
