SLTDA to register Mirissa hoteliers this week

The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) said it would launch a mobile registration campaign to register hoteliers in Mirissa this week and would be done according to the provisions of the SLTDA Act.

It further said that a team of SLTDA officials would visit the hoteliers.

A spokesman from the SLTDA told ,a temporary registration could be obtained for those who failed to meet standards of the regulatory process due to justifiable reasons.

He said the SLTDA would collect the hoteliers data and create a data base and that a license would be given immediately for those who posses a valid trade license with clear financial statements.

Meanwhile, the SLTDA said it would seek legal advise from the Attorney General’s Department regarding hoteliers who are unable to fulfill the SLTDA requirements, and said it would individually attend to those cases and review their facilities before registering them with the authority.

The SLTDA strictly implemented and enforced the regulations on the hoteliers after a group of Dutch tourists were assaulted in Mirissa on April 8. Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs Minister John Amaratunga raised concerns regarding the tourists’ security and instructed the officials to regulate the registration process of the hoteliers in Mirissa, following the tragic incident.

The SLTDA said it would seek legal advise from the Attorney General’s Department regarding hoteliers who are unable to fulfill the SLTDA requirements