Tourists visiting Sri Lanka are down to less than a third -- and hotel rooms are dirt cheap

• Hotels are slashing prices and are also aggressively advertising in key markets like Russia, after Easter bombings have kept tourists at bay.
  

• Lavanga Resort & Spa is reportedly offering a room for $35 a night with breakfast, much less than its usual price of $75, reported Reuters.

After a slump in tourist arrivals, Sri Lanka is going all out to get them back to its country. Hotels are slashing prices and are also aggressively advertising in key markets like Russia, after Easter bombings have kept tourists at bay.

Lavanga Resort & Spa is reportedly offering a room for $35 a night with breakfast, much less than its usual price of $75, reported Reuters.

The co-ordinated suicide bombings in April 2019 killed 250 people, including 45 foreigners from China, India, US and the UK.

After the attack, the country’s tourism industry took a massive hit with 80% drop in arrivals, according to government data. The sector contributes 4.9% to the country’s GDP, and directly employs over half a million people.

In 2018, nearly 2.3 million tourists visited the South East Asian island which offers everything that Bali and Thailand does. The scenic country also has historical places, beaches and is known for its wildlife sanctuaries.

Tourism is also a growth sector in the country. It generated nearly $4.4 million in 2018, up 17% from 2017. Before the blasts, the country was hoping to grow its number of tourists.

Travel Ban

Several countries issued a travel ban after the attacks, which barred Sri Lanka from launching a marketing campaign. The government is hoping to make a comeback after the ban is lifted.

According to Sanath Ukwatte, president of the Hotels Association of Sri Lanka, hotels which once had 70% occupancy, now barely fill up 10%. As per his estimates, the tourism sector lost $1.5 billion due to the blasts.