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Sri Lanka tourism a casualty of escalating war
Colombo,
Apr
9:
Sri
Lanka's
tourism
industry,
which
blossomed
in
the
wake
of
a
2002
ceasefire,
has
fallen
victim
to
the
resumption
of
the
country's
long-running
civil
war,
industry
groups
say.
Authorities
are
hoping
a
targeted
marketing
push
can
lure
visitors
back
to
the
''Pearl
of
the
Indian
Ocean'',
but
with
no
end
in
sight
to
near-daily
sea,
air
and
land
clashes
between
government
and
Tamil
Tiger
rebels,
few
expect
a
rush
of
tourists
in
the
coming
months.
''Tourism
is
always
a
casualty,
the
first
casualty
in
a
situation
like
this,''
said
Renton
De
Alwis,
chairman
of
the
Sri
Lanka
Tourist
Board.
Tourist
arrivals
fell
18.3
per
cent
in
February
compared
to
a
year
ago,
continuing
a
trend
that
began
in
the
middle
of
last
year
--
not
an
encouraging
sign
for
a
country
still
recovering
from
the
2004
tsunami.
More
than
50
people
have
died
in
violence
in
the
past
week,
including
25
killed
in
bomb
attacks
on
civilian
buses
in
the
east
and
north
of
the
country.
Well
over
4,000
troops,
civilians
and
rebels
have
been
killed
in
the
past
15
months
alone.
''Unless
some
kind
of
peace
comes
to
Sri
Lanka,
people
will
be
scared.
Especially
with
travel
advisories
by
certain
countries,
it
will
definitely
affect
our
industry,''
said
V
Mahadevan,
head
of
the
Sri
Lanka
Travel
Agent's
Association.
In
January,
the
heart
of
the
peak
season,
tourist
arrivals
rose
slightly
compared
with
the
same
month
the
year
before,
but
each
of
the
last
four
months
of
2006
saw
double-digit
drops.
Air
Raid
Last
month,
the
Liberation
Tigers
of
Tamil
Eelam
(LTTE),
fighting
to
establish
an
independent
state,
launched
their
first-ever
air
strike,
hitting
an
air
force
base
near
the
capital's
international
airport.
The
raid
drew
wide
attention
and
prompted
Hong
Kong-based
carrier
Cathay
Pacific,
Asia's
third
biggest
airline,
to
suspend
daily
flights
in
and
out
of
Sri
Lanka.
The
Tiger
air
attack
had
caused
no
noticeable
rise
in
room
cancellations,
a
hotel
industry
group
said.
Overall
bookings
were
generally
weak
but
helped
by
a
steady
flow
of
NGO
and
aid
workers.
''Those
who
have
booked
are
coming.
We
really
do
not
know
how
much
we
have
lost,''
said
Hiran
Cooray,
president
of
Sri
Lanka's
hoteliers'
association.
Still,
he
added:
''These
are
peak
months
and
we
are
not
achieving
those
targets
that
we
had
before.''
Authorities
are
trying
to
revive
the
industry.
''We
have
a
tactical
marketing
programme
in
place
in
order
to
work
the
Indian
market
as
well
as
some
other
key
markets,
and
we
have
strong
trust
in
West
Asia
market,
as
well,''
De
Alwis
said.
Earlier
this
week,
Cathay
said
it
would
resume
flights
to
Colombo
on
April
22,
which
could
help.
But
with
the
ceasefire
agreement
in
tatters
and
many
expecting
escalation
of
a
conflict
that
has
killed
more
than
67,000
people
since
1983,
the
trend
of
falling
tourist
numbers
is
expected
to
continue
this
month
and
well
into
2007.
President
Mahinda
Rajapaksa's
majority-Sinhalese
government
is
pushing
ahead
with
a
plan
to
destroy
all
Tiger
military
assets,
while
the
Tigers
have
vowed
to
fight
on
and
have
warned
of
a
bloodbath.
Reuters
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