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New Covid-19 cluster delays tourism plans

11 Oct 2020

[caption id="attachment_100677" align="alignleft" width="300"] Stranded tourists in the Eastern Coast catching the swell, July 2020. Photo Pradeep Dambarage[/caption] By Skandha Gunasekara The Government’s plans for the tourism sector are to be pushed back with the arrival of a contingent of 44,000 Russian tourists scheduled in November being postponed indefinitely, The Sunday Morning learnt. The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) President Sanath Ukwatte told The Sunday Morning that there have been many inquiries for bookings to Sri Lanka due to the lack of Covid-19-free countries, adding: “There have been many inquiries, but no bookings as such yet. “We were one of the few countries that had controlled the pandemic quite well, and tourists around the world don’t really have that many options in that regard. However, it is still hard for us to determine how many bookings we will have.” He said that the opening of the airport would allow the travel industry to kickstart operations with overseas tourists. “The first step is to fix a date for when the airport would open for foreign tourists. After that, we can work on informing stakeholders and estimate a number. “We must advertise and promote Sri Lanka tourism, and we have to work with travel agents as well as our customers. “At the moment, I don’t want to speculate on how many tourists we can expect as soon as the airports open. As another cluster has been found, we have to wait till that is contained and things normalise. “These kinds of situations can be recurring, as what we are facing globally is unprecedented in modern times. So, we don’t know how long it would take for this new cluster to be brought under control; also, whether we may need curfew and lockdown to contain it.” Sri Lanka attractive right now He noted that the majority of tourists who visit during the end of the year are from regions experiencing winter during those times, such as Europe. “Normally, the inquiries during the winter season come from European countries and Russia. To avoid the cold winter, they want to come to Sri Lanka and spend some time here. “But right now, of course, I think there is a big demand for people to travel here because there are not many countries for them to go to. If we can open the airport, provided the health officials are happy and if they give us the proper protocol to follow, then we can ascertain how many bookings we can expect.” He said they expected that Sri Lanka being given the “All Clear” pass by the World Tourism Council would assist in attracting more visitors. “Also, the fact that Sri Lanka got the “All Clear” pass from the World Tourism Council has resulted in so many countries saying Sri Lanka is a safe destination. So, there would be increased demand under the circumstances.” Ukwatte then reiterated that that a date for opening of the airport would help finalise plans for prospective tourists, stating: “However, nothing can be done until a decision is taken to open the airport. That will be the first step.” Tourism sector geared and ready Meanwhile, Minister of Tourism Prasanna Ranatunga said the Government was in the process of ensuring the country was only a few steps away from restarting the tourism sector as soon as it gets the nod from the health services. “We are working day and night to ensure that everything is prepared and the country is ready to open its doors to international tourism as soon as we’ve brought the Covid-19 outbreak under control. But we can’t give a definite time and date on when we can open for tourism; the Government is making all the necessary arrangements.” One of the new initiatives taken by the Government is to introduce an app for tourists. “A presentation was done a few days ago but it wasn’t made public given the circumstances. The app will be done by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA). It will show the itinerary of a tourist – exactly where he is bound and what hotels he is staying at. In addition, the Covid-19 test results of each tourist would be available on the app. The app has been developed and is awaiting official launch.” In addition, he said the incumbent Government wants to provide tourists with health insurance which would also cover Covid-19, stating: “We also want to provide health insurance for all tourists including cover for Covid-19. We’ve informed insurance companies to provide us with their input on this mechanism. We are also making arrangements to bring down tourists in groups.” He then revealed that the Cabinet had already approved a large tour group of Russians for November this year. “We had made plans to bring down 44,000 Russians in November. The plan received the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers about three weeks ago. But all this was subject to the green light from the health services.” Nevertheless, he said the recent coronavirus developments in the country had pushed back the Russian tour group. “That Russian group arrival was postponed. But we are also in discussion with corona ‘green’ countries for further tourism opportunities.” Minister Ranatunga too affirmed that the entire industry was awaiting authorisation by the health authorities to start their activities. “Before tourism in the country can be opened, we have to complete the repatriation of Sri Lankan expatriates,” he said, adding: “The process has slowed in the past few weeks due to the quarantine centres reaching its capacities. But once the quarantine centres are freed up, the repatriation process will be swiftly completed. Only after it has been completed can we begin welcoming tourists.” Furthermore, the Health Ministry informed The Sunday Morning that there wasn’t a requirement for an islandwide lockdown at present. “Currently, there is no need to lockdown the country, as we are managing the situation. There is no need for islandwide curfew either,” Ministry of Health Chief Epidemiologist Dr. Sudath Samarweera told The Sunday Morning.

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