BY Buddhika Samaraweera   Claiming that the Minister of Tourism and the tourism authorities continue to act in an irresponsible manner in the face of the severe setback faced by the tourism industry, the Hotel Workers’ Centre (HWC) of the Inter-Company Employees' Union warned that the tourism sector will completely collapse by next year if this is allowed to continue, and that Sri Lanka will then become an unpopular country among tourists. Speaking to The Morning, HWC National Organiser Jayathilaka Ranasinghe said: “The tourism sector is now facing a serious crisis. According to the data available to us, only about 30 rooms are booked in hotels where there are hundreds of rooms, and those were full of tourists in the past years. Hundreds of small-scale hotels are closed and even the star-class hotels are finding it difficult to survive. Some of the hotels' income is not even enough to maintain operations. There is no relief for the tourism sector employees in any way." He claimed that although the Government is required to take immediate steps to revive the industry, which is one of main sources of foreign exchange, the Government and the other relevant agencies are doing nothing but blaming the people's struggle (“aragalaya”) for the collapse of the tourism industry. Claiming that those who engaged in the struggle too were demanding solutions for the prevailing issues in the country, he said that the Ministry and the other authorities are trying to cover up their inability under the guise of the struggle hampering their capabilities. "The Tourism Ministry is stating from time to time that it has done this and that for the revival of the tourism industry, but nothing is done. If they have done the needful, they should make an announcement inviting the tourists. Why can’t they tell the world that there is a suitable environment for the tourists to visit Sri Lanka? That is because they have not done anything. The issues faced by the tourists remain unresolved,” claimed Ranasinghe. Noting that several trade unions and tourism sector experts have requested discussions with the relevant authorities, including Minister of Tourism Harin Fernando, to present their proposals for the revival of the industry, he claimed that neither the Minister nor any other authority has yet invited them for a discussion. If they continue to act in such an irresponsible manner, he warned that the tourism industry will completely collapse by 2023, thereby making Sri Lanka an unpopular destination among tourists. “Just because our country is filled with tourist destinations, tourists will not visit here. We should be able to provide them with the necessary facilities. Without doing so, the authorities are making statements. That will not help rebuild this industry. There are many experts who have been in the field for decades. Therefore, they should be consulted, and their views should be considered. However, nothing as such seems to happen under this Government,” added Ranasinghe. Fernando was not available for comment on the matter. Given the Easter Sunday terror attacks in 2019, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the economic crisis prevailing at present, the tourism industry has suffered great setbacks, with the number of tourists visiting the country having drastically gone down over the past few years. The prevailing issues caused by the crisis situation such as the shortages of essential commodities including gas and fuel, and the lack of transportation facilities has further brought down the tourist arrivals. The HWC had also organised a protest in Colombo recently, demanding that the Government provide immediate solutions to the problems that have arisen in the tourism sector.