Govt should bring Pradeshiya Sabha tax on hotels, other ventures to one level-Nilmin
Sri Lankan government should immediately step in to bring the Pradeshiya Sabha tax on hotels and other regional business ventures to one level said Veteran hotelier and travel and tourism personality and head of NKAR travels, Nilmin Nanayakkara who was honored as the ‘Pioneer in the Travel and Tourism Sector’ at the 2024 tourism awards.
He said that in some areas the tax is 3% and in some other areas it’s 1% and this is really disturbing. “All Pradehsiya Sabas should charge one rate,” he said. He also said that the 3 million arrival target for 2025 from the present 2 million plus target for 2024 is challenging but can be achieved. “However for this a focused marketing campaign is a must and changing destination taglines every time a minister changes is not advisable. He also said that previous administrations had always created new destination marketing taglines spending huge amounts of money. “The amounts spent on them should be reviewed as they are questionable.”
He also said that in a bid to increase arrivals the government should work closely with SriLankan Airlines and other airlines as increasing the number of passengers to Sri Lanka will also benefit them. He also said that what the industry last year wanted was a temporary visa on arrival system for all countries to recover the tourism industry which was down due to Easter Sunday attacks and economic crisis. “However instead they offered a different visa scheme.”
He also stressed that the VFS initiated visa on arrival system had a major negative impact for the industry and arrivals dropped by a minimum 15%. Recalling his past he said that he started the company in 1980 with a capital of Rs. 500,000 loaned by his mother in Bristol Street with just three employees and today has moved to his own house in Colombo 3 with over 3,500 employees.
“We moved from ticketing to offering both inbound and outbound tour packages and then to cruise tourism was elevated as one of the best Destination Management Companies ’ (DMC) in Sri Lanka. We are among the best four or five TDL providers to Sri Lank tourism earnings.” He was later offered the ownership of Insight Ahangama with 22 rooms and took up the challenge and invested around Rs. 600 million to elevate it to a four star class hotel with 52 rooms. I was also the first to introduce rail tours from Kandy to Nanu Oya and also was the first to introduce Sinhala taglines to English advertising to promote outbound tours.
His dedication for 45 years was honored on many occasions and NKAR was presented with the national award for the ‘Best Tour Operator’ (medium category) in 2018 for its accomplishments in the sector. Today NKAR handles around 20,000+ inbound clients annually and is the only company in Sri Lanka to assign a Tour Leader Manager, who is actively involved in overseeing proper training and safety checks for tour groups.( S.S)
The post Govt should bring Pradeshiya Sabha tax on hotels, other ventures to one level-Nilmin appeared first on DailyNews.