There will be less to celebrate for Sri Lankans in the coming weeks over Christmas and the passing away of 2008 and the birth of 2009.
If the main cause is the snowballing effect of the global economic meltdown, many domestic issues have only compounded the situation even further.
One of the immediate effects of the global downturn is the drastic drop in tourist arrivals.
Hiran Cooray, a leading hotelier and Director of the Tourism Development Authority described the drop as “horrible.” Coupled together are the high cost of living and the ongoing war, he said.
Siri Gunawardena, President of the Hikkaduwa Hoteliers Association said “room occupancy in hotels have hit an all time low of just 20 per cent.”
There would be no activity in this popular tourist resort, he lamented. This is at a time when it is winter in Europe and occupation in hotels countrywide had been all time high in the past years.
Locally, the star class hotels have been hit by the stringent security measures in the city of Colombo and suburbs. This is due to the ongoing military offensives in the Wanni.
Whilst occupancy was low, diners were only a handful leaving most hotels deserted after nightfall. As a result, the annual New Year’s eve dances at Colombo Hilton and Holiday Inn have been cancelled.
Shanthi Kumar, President of the City Hotels Association said “most hotels feared there would be a drop in ticket sales.” However, a few are holding the event though tickets are not heavily in demand like in previous years.
Prices have averaged between Rs 7,000 to Rs 10,000. Most of those who frequented hotels have opted for house parties.
A retired senior police officer said there would be more house parties during this season since most revellers did not want to be on the roads in view of the heavy presence of security forces and police personnel in the streets.
Some of the largest companies in Colombo have told employees of their inability to pay bonus this year. In a newly emerged multi-national, not only bonus payments have beencancelled but also the annual increments in pay have been delayed. An export house which registered income in billions had ended up with paltry revenue in millions this year. Most companies have pruned down or cancelled their annual hampers, diaries or other promotional complimentary gifts.
The immediate impact of this has been a drop in sales in leading shopping complexes and supermarkets. Crowds were less and managements complained their revenue was less by half compared to last year. S. P. Samy, President of the Pettah Traders’ Association said it appeared there was very little money with the people. “It was never like this in the previous years where we recorded soaring sales and profits. This time around the picture is very gloomy,” he said. He said he was hoping that sales would pick up in the next few days as the New Year approached.
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