The government and the Ministry of Tourism should soon come up with a system to defer payments made by the stakeholders for licencing.
“Though most of hotels had to close from March 2020, till today we continue to pay hefty amounts of money to obtain liquor license and other licenses, therefore when renewing next year license the government should give concessions,” said Chairman, Managing Director, Thambapanni Leisure, Unawatuna, Prashan Dissanayake.
Statistics show F & B outlets and hotels together have 632 liquor licenses which will cost about Rs. 400,000 to renew them and a concession in this regard would be mostly welcomed. The government and the Ministry of Tourism should soon come up with a system to defer payments made by the stakeholders for licencing.
Commenting on the budget he said that in his opinion after many years this was one of the best pro development investment friendly budgets.
Positivity of this budget proposal is extending the concession and recovery of loans granted under the re financing facilities of the central bank of Sri Lanka until September 20, 2021. Further banks will be provided with a treasury guarantee covering 50% of such loans and the simplification of local government taxes.
“However the proposal charging 0.25% from the turnover towards the covid funds will negatively affect the already shattered tourism industry. This sector is struggling to pay the employees after COVID impact without any earnings. I think the government should look at the SME sector as well because some of them couldn’t get any loans to pay the employees, electricity & water bills. In that case many employees lost their jobs. We hope the government will find a solution for these problems.”
“Tourism is one of the most important industries in our economy. Tourism earning was US $ 570 million in 2010 accounting for only 1% GDP, thereafter by 2018 tourism earning increased up to US $ 4.4 billion now accounting for almost 5% GDP. However the industry was affected immensely in a negative way after Easter bombings and COVID 19 epidemic. Therefore we need to get back on track.”
“Over the last decade growth in the tourism sector not only supported GDP, but also covered up for our weaker trade balance and slowing worker remittance. If tourism grows at 15% over the next 5 years (similar to recent trajectory), it could become the single largest foreign exchange earner to the country surpassing worker remittances (USD 7bn) and be the largest contributor to GDP growth, hence it is essential to protect this industry and needs more assistance from the government during these difficult times.”
“The government should find the solution to re-open the airport, allowing tourists to come to Sri Lanka with a minimum stay requirement of 14 days which will be a great encouragement for the tourist sector. We are pleased to note that the English cricket team is playing two test matches in the Galle International Cricket stadium in mid-January 2021 and the tourist board should find a solution to attract the cricket fans, mainly the ‘barmy army’ which follows the English cricket team wherever they go. Usually these matches attract the best clientele who spend lavishly and would help the Galle Tourism belt.”
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