The government is considering extending the grace period for electricity bills of tourist hotels affected by Covid pandemic.Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said that he expects to discuss the matter with the Minister of Power and Energy.
A grace period was granted for the payment of electricity bills for tourist hotels and residences registered with the Tourism Development Authority. It ended in last September.
Hoteliers have been asked to provide further relief as it may take several more months for the collapsed tourism industry to recover.
The tourism industry, which collapsed due to Covid, is now gradually recovering.45,413 tourists have visited the country since January.
The number of tourists who arrived in the country from October 01 to October 13 was 7096. Most of the arrivals from January to October were from India, Kazakhstan, Germany, Ukraine, the United States, China, Canada, the United States, France and Russia.
Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga says that with the easing of travel restrictions, there is a growing tendency for more tourists to visit the country.
The Minister also said that the necessary promotional programs are being implemented to attract more tourists to the country in the next two months.
Meanwhile, hotel, accommodation and tourism service providers who have not yet registered with the Tourism Development Authority are now showing special interest in registering with the authority.
At present 5786 tourist hotels are registered with the Tourism Development Authority and the Authority is also implementing a concessionary program for registration with the Tourism Development Authority.
This registration is done online. The Tourism Development Authority further states that a special program is being implemented to expedite these registrations on the instructions of Minister Prasanna Ranatunga.
