‘s entry fees higher than region: Report
July 14, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tourist attractions entry fee charge between local and foreign visitors is higher when compared to other countries in the region, a recent report said.
“Along with regional countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and China, Sri Lanka too charges a two-tier price system whereby foreigners are charged a higher price,” Bartleet Religare Securities (BRS) in a report on the hotel industry said.
“However, the difference between local and foreign ratio is much higher in Sri Lanka.
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The report says for example a local would be charged 100 rupees per adult to enter the national zoological gardens whereas a foreigner would be charged 2500 rupees per adult.
“Tourists belonging to the SAARC region are given a concessionary rate of 700 rupees per adult,”
“All payments are made at point of entry and there are no facilities to pre-book these over the internet or to make payments via credit cards.”
This makes visiting many of the country’s national parks, archeological and cultural sites pricier than in other regional destinations, the report further said.
A reasonable explanation at a time when those who brought the present government into power have also begun to question the capability of the government to continue the thrust towards infrastructure development. However this will be appreciated by a handful of people and many judge by what they see when roam the streets or turn on the TV. It would be important for the government to have a communication plan which makes the public understand the current plight AND how and when we will come out of this and time plans for when we can start seeing progress and development. Someone has to keep his neck on the line and make these commitments to the public. You cannot expect people to be sympathetic towards the government and be happy with a sob story, all be it true.
Totally wrong to charge two rates. Trying doing that in the first world and you would be in court!! No wonder have the attractions are empty!