Q: What are your expectations of the business environment in the next 12 months or so?
A: I believe that business is not likely to pick up until at least mid-next year for the hospitality sector.

Business was nonexistent and as a measure to prevent exorbitant losses, we converted our hotel into a quarantine centre during the very early stages of the pandemic last year. However, we felt that there were too many hotels positioned as quarantine centres and therefore, converted the Blue Water Hotel and Spa into a hospital for COVID-19 infected patients.

I think tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka will take at least until the middle of next year to get back on track. Consequently, it is a bad period for the hospitality sector.

On the other hand, a resurgence in the apparel industry might be easier because the US is back on track now with people going out and about, and businesses opening up again. Therefore, the garment industry will be vibrant again by the last quarter of this year.

We should also be able to see exports improving countrywide across different industries including agriculture by around October.

Q: What is your take of the ongoing vaccination programme and how critical is it to your company’s prospects this year?
A: If the government doesn’t really hasten the completion of the vaccination programme, both the apparel industry and hospitality sector will suffer.

At present, the number of infected patients is around 200,000 but I believe the real number is seven times higher, which is about 1.5 million people. Eventually, within a year, this figure could shoot up to 10 million so it’s crucial that the vaccination programme is implemented as quickly as possible to save lives.

In the case of garment factories, if one person gets infected, it would spread to the others rapidly. Therefore, it’s vital to vaccinate them as well as workers in the hospitality sector on a priority basis. If not, we’re heading towards disaster.

Q: Do you expect the national economy to pick up this year?
A: From the last quarter of this year to the first quarter of 2022 – i.e. October to next March – the economy should pick up in terms of garment exports. However, there won’t be any contributions from the hospitality sector.

Meanwhile, the economy will also perform better as the expatriate labour force in the Middle East and other countries gradually increases, and their inward remittances improve. Overall, the government will have a certain degree of respite by the end of March 2022.