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Ranatunga takes on tourism conspiracy theorists

28 Sep 2021

  • Says country safe for travel, cites rapid/large-scale vaccination, fewer Covid-19-positive tourists, negative PCR requirement
By Dinitha Rathnayake Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga has called on the people to not fall prey to the alleged conspiracy to disrupt the tourism industry in the country and to help build the tourism industry. He alleged that certain people had launched a conspiracy to create undue fear among the people that the Covid-19 pandemic spread through the tourism industry. Instead of supporting such a conspiratorial scheme, the Minister urged the people to join hands in strengthening the economy of the country by building the tourism industry without looking down on the tourism industry. Ranatunga expressed these views at a discussion held at the Ministry yesterday (28). The discussion was on the future plans of the tourism industry. Speaking further, he said: “The two most challenging sectors in the country in the last two years were tourism and aviation. Although the global pandemic has had an impact on the tourism industry in Sri Lanka, we have been able to ensure that Sri Lanka is a safe haven for tourists in the world due to the Government's rapid vaccination programme and the safety and security of travel service providers. “By now, more than 60% of the population of the country has been vaccinated. The world is now reopening for tourism. Accordingly, Sri Lanka too is working hard to move towards the difficult and challenging goal of reviving the tourism industry with the situation.” On 26 December 2020, the regulated tourism project was launched. The country was officially opened up for tourists on 21 January 2021 following Covid-19-related border closures. “We are looking at the resumption of this tourism industry, on which about three million are dependent. They raise various misconceptions among the people against the reopening of the country to tourists. The main allegation is that the pandemic has spread in the country due to tourists. More than 50,000 tourists have visited the country since last January. Among them, only 270 were reported to be infected with Covid-19. “These conspiracy theorists know that if the tourism industry succeeds, the country will become economically strong. They want to keep the country closed to tourists every day. The country cannot be closed forever. That is why we decided to open the country to tourists in accordance with the health guidelines. If the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test report at the airport is negative for a tourist who has been fully vaccinated, he/she will be given the opportunity to travel anywhere in the country,” Ranatunga said. He added that the goal is to attract between 20,000 and 30,000 tourists in the next three months, adding that they expect 500,000 tourists to visit the island next year. “We have also taken steps to develop airports and airlines to attract tourists. At present, about 20 airlines operate direct flights to Sri Lanka. Seven more airlines are set to launch direct flights with Sri Lanka in the near future. Among them are Russian, French, Italian, and Israeli airlines. We are also in the process of developing the Katunayake, Mattala, and Jaffna Airports. We are also working to develop infrastructure in the tourism sector. An inter Ministerial committee was appointed for this purpose. The committee is currently identifying areas where infrastructure needs to be developed and is taking the necessary steps,” Ranatunga further added.

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