197 hotel projects currently underway in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka says, currently 197 hotel projects are underway in the country which once completed will add 12,579 hotel rooms to the local tourism industry.

According to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Shangri-La, Sheraton, Hyatt and Sun City are among the international hotel chains that have entered the local tourism industry to start tourism ventures.

The country, which up to November 2011 has got 758,458 tourists, has also seen the average spending per tourist per night increasing to US$ 97 in 2011 from US$ 88 in 2010.

The country’s tourism earnings up to November this year has exceeded US$ 736 million while the Authorities estimate it to reach the figure of US$ 1.2 billion during the year 2012.

Up to November 2011, Western Europeans to the country has seen a year on year increase of 37%, while Indian tourists have increased by 20%, East Asian tourists by 11% and Middle Eastern tourists by 7%.