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Tourism industry to be vaccinated 

05 Mar 2021

Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairperson Kimarli Fernando has brought forward a proposal to provide vaccinations for the tourism industry, which has been approved by Minister of Tourism Prasanna Ranatunga together with the Ministry of Health.  Accordingly, a special vaccination programme will commence in the coming weeks.  Stakeholders of the tourism industry are now registering and sending in information to the programme. All employees of the Safe and Secure certified hotels, amounting to 12,503 employees who have now registered, along with the tour guides (2,737) and tourist drivers (1,816) who play a significant role in the tourism industry, will receive the ability to fight Covid-19.  Moreover, all staff members of all four tourism institutions and the Ministry of Tourism totalling 658 individuals, are added to the programme.  With the health and safety of the overall tourism industry being the main priority of the authority, Sri Lanka Tourism is experiencing impeccable feedback from industry stakeholders on this initiative. With a total of 17,714 persons coming forward with their information to register for the vaccination, the thriving revival of Sri Lanka Tourism is not far along.  A total of 5,048 tourist arrivals were recorded by February this year, out of which nine positive Covid-19 cases were confirmed. Community spread was mitigated with the safety protocols put in place and through this initiative not only will it safeguard and protect the health of the tourism industry as a whole, but further will bring Sri Lanka one step closer to being the safest country for tourists.  Fernando stated: “The revival of the tourism sector is our primary focus. In doing so, we proposed the special vaccination programme; with the support of the Tourism and Health Ministries we will implement the project. We aim to safeguard the stakeholders of the industry and work towards a fairly normal setup.” SLTDA Director General Dhammika Wijesinghe further went on to mention: “Attaining a normalcy of operating like pre-pandemic times and uplifting the industry during these periods will have a positive impact on the country’s economy. Thus far, the safety of our people is a core mandate; hence we look forward to working together with the respective ministries and the stakeholders to successfully conduct this action.” 


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