Sri Lanka, May 6 -- Sri Lanka's tourism industry faces a setback this summer as it is losing Russian charters to competitors. The decline comes amid escalating landing charges at Mattala International Airport (MRIA) and a significant rise in hotel rates, driven by minimum room rate policies among Colombo City hotels.
According to Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) former Vice President and Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau former Director Angeline Ondaatje, Russian charters including 412-seater twice a week flight operated by Redwing has decided to drop Mattala from its summer flight operations.
"Last year, we had charters that came from Russia throughout the summer. But, this year, some of the hoteliers got together and agreed on ...