More tourists are visiting Sri Lanka despite the tsunami that devastated coastal hotels but they are spending shorter holidays, slowing a recovery of the battered hospitality sector.

The security-sensitive industry could suffer further if there is an outbreak of violence in the lead-up to the presidential vote on November 17, but officials said they expected a peaceful campaign.

“The last few elections in Sri Lanka have been relatively peaceful and we don’t expect things to change,” tourism ministry secretary Prathap Ramunujam told reporters.

He cautioned that any trouble could affect the peak tourist season which starts in December.

The number of nights visitors spent in hotels dropped sharply to 199,373 in the first eight months of this year compared to 302,957 in the corresponding period last year, he said.

However, the number of people visiting the country as tourists from January to end-August jumped to 362,049, up from 324,105 in the corresponding period last year.

Ramunujam said discounts offered after the tsunami helped attract bargain hunters from neighbouring India, but overall hotel occupancy rates dropped to 44.4% in the first eight months of the year compared to 51.2% last year.

While resorts did badly, hotels in the capital were comparatively better off with most of the Indian tourists staying here mainly for shopping and not venturing too far out of the city.

“Tourist arrivals are up about 11% for the first eight months, but its benefits are largely centred around Colombo city,” Ramunujam said.

(Source: www.gulf-times.com )