Minimum Room Rates from
November 1

By Nizla Naizer

The Tourism Ministry yesterday decided to implement the minimum room rate agreement from November 1. After a discussion with representatives of the Colombo City Hotel Association the Ministry has also decided to allocate rates according to the star category.
“The current star classifications of the hotels will remain for a year after which it will be subjected to a review,” Colombo City Hotels Association President M. Shanthikumar said. The minimum room only rate for the highest star category has been determined at USD 90 a night, he informed and the gazette notification will be announced after a final meeting with the authorities next week. “This is a good rate to start off with,” he stated, “and we are positive about the future of tourism.” He commented that although arrivals in August were at a high, September has been slow.
“We look forward to a better winter season compared to last year as we have already witnessed a surge in demand.”
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) Chairman Chandra Wickremasinghe said that the arrangement is good in relation to MICE and corporate travelers but the pre-contracted rates with the operators must remain for the booked dates.
Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka continued to improve with an increase of 34.3% in August compared to last year. A total of 41207 tourists arrived in the island in August. However, this is a drop from arrivals in July where 42223 tourists arrived in the height of the Western summer. The number of tourists arriving in the country has been on a rise since the war ended in May, with numbers increasing by 8% in June and by 28% in July compared to last year. 
The highest contributor for tourist arrivals last month were UK with 8671 arrivals, India with 7409 arrivals, Germany with 2689 arrivals and France with 1675 visitors. The increase in tourist arrivals are encouraging but compared to the eight months ending in August last year, number of arrivals to Sri Lanka has declined by 5.9%.