Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal suspends minimum room rates for hotels in Colombo

Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal overrules minimum room rates for hotels in Colombo

Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal on Tuesday issued an interim order suspending minimum room rates in city hotels in Colombo.

The order states: “Pending the final oral decision on this application, issue an interim order suspending the implementation of the alleged order published in the Extraordinary Official Gazette No. 2349/02 of September 11, 2023 and marked ‘p-8’.”

The Minimum Room Rate or MRR came into force on October 1, 2023 through the aforementioned Official Gazette of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), which applied minimum rates for the marketing of city hotels in Colombo. The MRR was challenged in court by a section of the industry, including the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO), on the grounds that the decision was taken without consulting key stakeholders. The petitioners have stated that the MRR, set at a minimum of US$100++ per 5-star hotel room, has deterred many tourists, particularly the convention, incentive and meeting traffic, from visiting Sri Lanka as it is in the region There are cheaper options.

In this context, the Court has issued interim orders suspending the operation of the Official Journal pending the outcome of this investigation.

Meanwhile, tourism authorities have said they hope to end the MRR by May 31.

(SD)