Hotels Association urges Govt. leadership to ensure political and social stability

The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) yesterday called upon the Government leadership to take appropriate decisions immediately and create a conducive environment to ensure social and political stability and security which are key for foreign visitor travel and the overall efforts to revive the economy.

“In the backdrop of the events taking place across the country, it is our belief that the time has come for the Government leadership to listen to the voice of the people during these difficult times and do whatever it entails to fulfil their wishes in the best interest of all Sri Lankans,” THASL President M. Shanthikumar said in a statement.

He stressed that tourism is a key stakeholder in attracting foreign exchange to the country. During a normal year, as an industry, tourism generates the highest net foreign exchange into the country and can be a catalyst in turning around the forex crisis we are faced with today.

Direct and indirect employment in the entire industry exceeds 500,000 and over 12% of the country’s population (over 3 million) are dependent on tourism for their livelihoods. The SME sector of the industry is struggling for survival after being affected by the 2019 Easter Sunday attack followed by the impact of the pandemic for a further two years and now in 2022 a complete collapse of the economy.

“Tourism industry has shown great resilience over the past several decades having overcome many challenging times of manmade and natural disasters. If the correct decisions are taken immediately, we are confident that together we can contribute to build the economy for a better Sri Lanka. We call on all citizens to have the courage, strength and the patience to sail through these difficult times,” Shanthikumar emphasised.

THASL represents the accommodation sector within the tourism Industry with an investment of over $ 15 billion contributing the highest revenue to the Government by way of taxes, levy’s, licenses etc., and employing the largest workforce across the country in hotels and other forms of accommodation.