Hoteliers urge minimum US$ 50mn annual marketing spend to hit 2030 targets

» POINT OUT DISCONNECT BETWEEN RECOVERING ARRIVAL NUMBERS AND ACTUAL FISCAL GROWTH » STRESS ABSOLUTE NEED OF FINALISING BROADER GLOBAL CAMPAIGN

- By NISHEL FERNANDO

The Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) is calling for a consistent, minimum annual marketing investment of US$ 50 million to steer the industry toward its ambitious target of 5 million arrivals and US$ 10 billion in income by 2030.

Industry leaders highlighted that the government already possesses the necessary funds for this global promotional drive, with an estimated Rs. 14 billion having been steadily collected from the formal sector through the Tourism Development Levy and the embarkation levy.

During a press briefing held in Colombo yesterday, stakeholders pointed out a concerning disconnect between recovering arrival numbers and actual fiscal growth. While tourist arrivals in 2025 returned to 2018 levels of 2.3 million—reflecting a 15.1 percent year-on-year growth—total revenue expanded by a marginal 1.6 percent to approximately US$ 3.2 billion, exposing the urgent need for a strategic shift.

The stagnant revenue is largely attributed to a saturated accommodation landscape within the formal sector.

Vice President of Resort Hotels at THASL Eksath Wijeratne emphasised that the sector is currently grappling with fierce price competition because while arrival numbers have remained static compared to pre-crisis levels, the supply of accommodations has surged.