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Deserted landscapes
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Pix and text by Thusitha Kumara de Silva
With the tourism industry suffering a major blow due to the pandemic, most hotels remain closed, employees have been laid off, associated businesses closed down and informal sectors too affected.
The situation has been worse in the southern coastal belt spreading from Kalutara downwards where most people depended on the tourism sector.
Travelling through Beruwala, Bentota and Aluthgama it is clear that most hotels are deserted with some only the security guard on duty. A few have retained some staff to maintain the place.
Even local councils have not made the rounds to remove piled up leaves.
“We had a limited staff for a couple of weeks, but now we have told them not to come as there is no immediate signs of getting permission to open the hotels,” a hotelier said. He was trying to keep the place clean and in working condition.
Others who sold ornamental items, tea, and clothing items nearby have been forced to close shop.
“Our hope is that we will be able to at least open for local tourists initially and then for foreign tourists later,” hotelier S Rathnapala Silva said.
Hotels have been abandoned
Waiting in hope
A littered beach
Not a reveller in sight
Unkept by-roads