By: Staff Writer
December 07, Colombo (LNW): Cyclone Ditwah has delivered a sharp blow to Sri Lanka’s tourism sector, exposing long-standing vulnerabilities while simultaneously demonstrating its remarkable capacity for quick rebound. Though over 25,000 tourists arrived during and after the disaster, the uneven impact on hotels, infrastructure, and coastal destinations underscores the need for comprehensive climate-resilient planning across the industry.
Hoteliers in the Southern and Eastern coastal belts report extensive damage: washed-out beach fronts, water-damaged ground-floor facilities, destroyed landscaping, and significant losses in back-of-house machinery. Several boutique hotels between Hikkaduwa and Tangalle remain partially closed, while eco-lodges in riverine areas have suspended operations due to safety concerns. Industry associations warn that repairing damaged properties could take months, affecting room capacity and seasonal earnings.
Yet the influx of tourists has not collapsed. With arrivals surpassing 2.1 million by November and the month’s 212,906 visitors marking a five-year high for November performance, the sector’s revival momentum remains intact. Colombo, in particular, has absorbed diverted tourist flows, with high-end hotels maintaining 70–75% occupancy even amid the crisis. The awarding of Five-Star certification to Cinnamon Life at City of Dreams highlights the capital’s growing role as an urban leisure and MICE destination.
The disaster, however, has spotlighted gaps in emergency readiness. Many hotels lacked comprehensive disaster-response protocols, while some coastal regions faced delays in relief access due to damaged roads and communication blackouts. Tourism experts argue that without updated evacuation plans, stronger early-warning systems, and mandated climate-resilient hotel standards, future disasters could trigger far deeper economic shocks.
Sri Lanka Tourism officials emphasise that recovery efforts are already underway. Short-term steps include rapid hotel inspections, emergency repair grants, and re-establishing travel confidence through transparent communication with source markets. International campaigns are being prepared to reassure travellers that the island remains open, safe, and operational.
Long-term planning aims to reposition Sri Lanka as a climate-resilient destination. This includes coastal protection engineering, green hotel certification programmes, diversification into inland and niche tourism products, and strategic promotion of Colombo as a year-round entertainment and convention hub. The cyclone’s aftermath has become an inflection point: policymakers must now embed climate adaptation into tourism development rather than treat disasters as temporary setbacks.
The sector’s path forward depends on how swiftly damaged regions are restored and whether lessons from Cyclone Ditwah can reshape the industry’s preparedness. Sri Lanka’s tourism backbone has held firm but its future resilience hinges on structural reforms that match the private sector’s determination.
