BENTOTA, Sri Lanka/COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's $4.4 billion tourism industry is reeling from cancellations as travellers shun the sun and sand Indian Ocean island after multiple suicide bombings that killed over 250 people two weeks ago. "It's a big blow to the economy, as well as the tourism industry," Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said in an interview on Saturday. (GRAPHIC: The toll on tourism - https://tmsnrt.rs/2WqQqZc)Cancellation rates at hotels across the country averaged 70 percent as of Saturday, with the capital Colombo taking a bigger hit, Sri Lanka's Tourism Bureau Chairman Kishu Gomes told Reuters. It was Sri Lanka's third largest and fastest growing source of foreign currency last year. Samanmali Collone, 54, runs the seven-room Warahena Beach Hotel in Bentota, where rooms cost 10,000 Sri Lankan rupees ($56) per night.

Source: The Star May 05, 2019 02:37 UTC