Sri Lanka over pricing tourists...?

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After seeing the end of 30 year civil war sri lanka has been booming with tourism. Also after naming the #1 must visited destination for 2011 by NY times many people around the world seem to have a great interest in the small tear drop island. However aster doing thorough research I have come to a conclusion that sri lanka is over pricing tourists since beginning of 2010.

This is one of the requests that came to one of the tourist from JETWING travel group

ITINERARY:-
3 nights in Vil Uyana,
2 nights Kandy House
4 nights Ceylon Tea Trails
1 night Mahoora Luxury Camping
1 night Yala Village
2 nights Jetwing Lighthouse
This was for a family of 4 with a 13 years old and a 10 years old child. Travel period is the two last weeks of April. They have asked for a tailor made for a quote in Sri Lanka. Jetwings offer was US$ 5.300 x3 and US$ 5.030 for the youngest child. This is a total of US$ 21,000 !!!!!! . This is not all; the most reduculous part if they charge $9500 just for the 2 day luxury camping. Are you kidding me? No place in the whole would would charge that much for such an itinerary.

I know that prices have gone up in Sri Lanka since the end of the conflict but if these costs are genuine, then Sri Lanka seems to be pricing itself out of the market. I'm a Sri Lankan and I have a pretty good idea of what the price increase in Sri Lanka is. Also I have stayed in California for 7 years. I have traveled all around US and stayed in luxury hotels but would never contemplate them at these prices. I think someone is making an awful lot of money somewhere in the chain.

Quite honestly, stories like this are putting a lot of long term visitors to Sri Lanka right off and newcomers will not be impressed either. Compared to other places in the region, Sri Lanka, in a number of respects, is beginning to look as though it is no longer good value for money and sad to say, until things settle into something a bit more reasonable. As a Sri Lankan traveling in Sri Lanka is not an issue given the local prices are very cheap. I want Sri Lanka to be a classy tourist destination because it got the potential. But these money hungry hotailers like Jetwing pushes the tourist away.

Suggestions:- Hotels such as Jetwings who claims to be a reputable travel company should be more responsible in promoting tourism in Sri Lanka. An appropriate price should be given to the tourist who would contribute for our countries development.

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Comments

[geoffrey Moreira]

over pricing tourists
I can recommend researching and booking Guest houses based on SPECIALS & travel by train..comfortable, cheap, relaxing, chat to the locals. Car excursions from central towns such as Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Colombo..Tuk Tuks to be used extensively whilst in towns..I will be travelling to Sri Lanka in July 2011 & will report good, bad or indifferent.