Industry not ready for 2.5 m tourists by 2015

Putting a dampener on optimism over the country being ready to receive 2.5 million tourists by 2015, Galadari Hotel General Manager Sampath Siriwardena yesterday announced that the industry was not ready to host the desired number.

“The industry as a whole is not ready to achieve this target. There are many areas that need intervention and focus. Besides, at the present level, there is a possibility of the country out-pricing itself from the market as well.”

The key challenge is the lack of efficient manpower in the industry. The Government should seriously look at setting up a proper hotel school to train youth from rural parts of the country as well. “We have spoken about this at various forums to no avail,” he said.

With giants in the industry such as Shangri-La coming into town, the industry is now facing a possibility of expatriate workers being brought down to uphold the quality standards maintained by the international hotels.

“If we cannot produce enough hotel staff with the proper attitude, skill and English literacy, they could bring their own staff down which will not settle well in the market,” Siriwardena said.

Commenting on the minimum rate imposed on hotel rates, he assured that soon, the country will be deep in a problem of overpricing. “As the market gets stabilised, they should reconsider this and let the market determine the rate. Neighbouring tourist destinations are priced lower than us oftentimes.”

The minimum rate also puts the hotels at a disadvantage during the off season. “Previously hotels packaged and marketed rooms during the off season to the locals at a lower rate which can no longer be done,” Siriwardena said.