The recession in the global air traffic industry was hurting long haul destinations in the tropics visited by British and European tourists, a major player in the resort hotel industry has said.

Prof. M.T.A. Furkhan, head of the Confifi Group, said in the annual reports of two of his quoted companies, Riverina Hotels Plc. And Eden Hotels Plc., that tour operators in the UK and elsewhere in Europe were meeting the challenge of less disposable income in the hands of their clients by increasingly offering what he called cheaper ``short haul’’ packages within their own countries or region.

These packages both by air and rail were offered to make alternative holidays affordable for their clients and that was a new form of competition in the European and British markets which affected most of the long haul tropical tourist destinations in the world including Sri Lanka.