The hospitality industry is confident that most of the properties damaged by the tsunami will bounce back within three months.

Already some hotels, particularly in the south west coast, which suffered minor damages following the surging tidal waves are back in business. However, some heads of tourist hotels destroyed by the tsunami warned that in the aftermath of the December 26 disaster, the threat of sea erosion in the Beruwala resort has grown.

If proper remedial action is not taken by the Coast Conservation Department, it will worsen during the monsoon. The other obstacle is the adverse travel advisory by various countries. So far, only Britain has eased restrictions on travel to Sri Lanka, they said.

Palitha Wijemanne, Chairman of the Beruwela-Bentota Hoteliers Association warned that if proper remedial action is not taken to halt sea erosion in the resort, it would be a difficult task to market the hotels. "The sea has now come near the fences of some of the hotels in the resort".

Beruwala resort, which is the biggest in the Sri Lanka, consists of 1,259 rooms. It was the badly affected by the tidal waves, and only 154 rooms are in operation now, he said.

Wijemanne was optimistic about resurgence of tourism in the aftermath of tsunami saying the hospitality industry, after much deliberations, had suggested to the coast conversation authorities to build an artificial barrier on the beach as a bulwark against natural calamities such as tsunamis and also as a deterrent against sea erosion.

He said the government has pledged to offer duty waivers on replacement of vehicles, furnishings and furniture lost by the hospitality and travel industry. "It is the government’s duty to expedite these concessions for a speedy recovery in the industry. On the other hand, various bank loans also promised by the Tourism Minister must also be expedited for the industry to reap full benefits of the concessions by the government at a time like this".

As suggested by the government, a National Policy on Tourism has to be formulated immediately and planned tourism zones should be established taking into account the positive side of the disaster if we are to improve on tourism, he emphasised.

Also, thousand of families in these regions depend on tourism, and the government will have to look at it positively, and infrastructure development is a key issue, Wijemanne noted.

"Another vital factor is the clearance of debris, where we have to seek the involvement of the community to overcome this problem, he said.

Industry sources said a Presidential Task Force has been appointed under the leadership of Karu Jayasuriya to examine and remedy problems caused by the tsunami disaster. Former Tourism Minister Gamini Lokuge is also playing a pivotal role in this connection, and presenting a Tourism Master Plan is expected to be completed in three phases.

Sanjeeva Perera, General Manager, Bentota Beach Hotel, said the widened, 450-feet wide mouth of the river in Bentota is causing concern for hoteliers in the Bentota resort as there is now a new river bank formation in the vicinity of the hotels.

He also expressed concern over countries such as Germany, France, USA and Australia still not lifting the ban on travel to Sri Lanka.