Sri Lanka Tourism to raid illegal lodgings
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry has time and again requested authorities to ensure all accommodation units have a level-playing field and in this respect the authorities are going ahead to raid all illegal units in the country and take legal action against them.
“We started encouraging people to register – but still there are so many properties under Airbnb that have not done the registration,” Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairman Buddika Hewawasam told The Sunday Times Business.
The recent incident that took place where two tourists met their untimely death at the hostel they were staying in was not registered with the SLTDA, Mr. Hewawasam said.
He pointed out that they have found that there are a number of unregistered properties listed under agoda and Airbnb.
He explained that even in Colombo there are a number of establishments providing accommodation to tourists that are not registered.
The process of registering these accommodation units under the SLTDA commenced in December last year and was said to have become effective by January 1, 2025.
This campaign is set to go islandwide by March, he said adding that they are seeking the assistance of the Attorney General’s Department on the legal measures that can be taken against such establishments.
And the authorities will also be involving the police as well to conduct the raids and implement the registration campaign.
Discussions with the various unregistered places started in two ways with one being to contact all those persons that do not have an office in Sri Lanka.
It was pointed out to the establishment owners that the display of properties without a registration under SLTDA is an offence.
Currently it has been found that there are around 16-20,000 online properties are displayed with no registration.
Mr. Hewawasam said that they were obtaining the lists of places that tourists can come and stayed from these online platforms and comparing them with their own database or registered properties. This will enable them to find out the ones not registered under the SLTDA, he said.
At the moment they have started raids in areas like Mirissa and Unawatuna where they have found some illegal ownership by foreigners of properties against which they have taken necessary legal action. Some property owners have also been deported, it was pointed out.
Tourists can in future request the registration numbers of the properties they want to stay at in a bid to ensure they are staying at safe locations and this will be taken up as a promotional campaign.
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