Colombo Sri Lanka (Commonwealth Union)_With Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals showing extraordinary signs of bouncing back to pre-Easter attack levels or better, global hotel chains are expressing confidence in the country’s ability to deliver its USPs to the global traveler. In an exclusive interview with CU, Market Vice President of South & East India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka of Marriott International Gaurav Singh said Sri Lanka has shown immense resilience, bouncing back quicker than anyone could imagine. Singh was in Sri Lanka accompanying pro-golfer and Arjuna Award winner Shiv Kapur, who is Marriott Bonvoy’s Brand Ambassador and the marquee player for the Sri Lanka Open 2023 Pro-Am Tournament.
“We are very buoyant about the country and have been for some time, continuing to open new hotels,” he said. Courtyard by Marriott is Colombo’s newest city hotel which opened its doors this year, adding to the Marriott umbrella which already has Weligama Bay Marriott Resort on Spa on the southern coast. “We are extremely positive about the long-term prospects of the industry.”
Sri Lanka welcomed over 480,000 tourists up to the third week of May this year, averaging about 100,000 arrivals each month, with Indian tourists taking the lead. The original forecast for 2023 was a total of 1.5 million arrivals although, with these surging numbers, Sri Lanka Tourism has upped the stakes to two million tourists by the end of 2023. The earning capacity from tourism is also expected to be over USD 3 billion, a definite panacea for the foreign exchange-strapped country.
If Sri Lanka is to augment this prospect of making tourism a key foreign exchange driver, Singh stated that it is imperative that more brands and more hotels like Marriott for example enter the Sri Lankan hospitality fray. “Sri Lanka’s infrastructure is fabulous, the hotels are top level and the culture of service is astounding. There is genuine warmth on the ground and these fundamentals make the foundation very strong for the industry to grow.”
By placing the spotlight on the prospects of golf tourism in Sri Lanka with two-time European Challenge Tour champion Shiv Kapur, Singh stated that with Kapur visiting Sri Lanka for the Sri Lanka Open 2023 and having Courtyard by Marriott Colombo as the title sponsor for the Pro-Am is a great way to promote golf in Sri Lanka and an excellent avenue to boost tourism for the country.
