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Tourism promotion hits rock bottom, claims Ministry

10 May 2022

  • Worried about having to start promotional campaigns from scratch 
  • Ministry Secretary slams UK travel advisory as ‘nasty’
  • Says unable to encourage tourists to come and visit SL
     By Imsha Iqbal  With the recent unrest that took place following the resignation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka Tourism is facing trouble in terms of attracting tourists into the country, as the earlier-planned tourism promotional campaigns have to be planned from scratch all over again, claimed the Ministry of Tourism.  Speaking to The Morning Business, Secretary to the Ministry of Tourism S. Hettiarachchi stated: “When the situation is calm (within the country and the Government), we can conduct promotions, but we have to re-commence from the bottom.”  Apart from the ongoing exhibitions where the country is being promoted, no promotion activities are taking place at the moment amidst the volatile circumstances in the country, the Ministry Secretary said.  However, the Sri Lanka Tourist Police have been instructed to immediately attend to any emergency that may arise, Hettiarachchi said, adding that the Ministry of Tourism will ensure the safety of the tourists until their departure, regardless of the situation in the country. Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) issued a notice to foreign tourists currently in the country, requesting them to remain within their premises of accommodation. The notice further said that their passports and airline tickets could be used as curfew passes when traveling to and from the airport.  Hettiarachchi also reiterated the fact that remaining in their hotel premises is much safer, since the situation is unpredictable. However, tourists who have purchased tickets to tourist attractions such as Sigiriya, will have their fee reimbursed, or be allowed to use the same ticket when the curfew is lifted, regardless of the date stipulated when the ticket was issued. “After the emergency being declared, I think that we cannot expect many tourists,” Hettiarachchi said, elaborating that Sri Lanka witnessed approximately 1,000 tourists per day during the last two days (9 and 10 May).  Responding to the inquiry on the travel advisories regarding Sri Lanka that have been issued by other countries thus far, Hettirachchi said the UK had issued a “nasty” travel advisory, whereas the highest number of tourist arrivals had been reported from the UK last month (April).  “However, at this moment we are unable to encourage these arrivals, since we cannot 100% guarantee that we can rebuild that reputation,” explained Hettiarachchi.   He added that yesterday (10), 60 French tourists were supposed to disembark in the country and the Ministry of Tourism had already made arrangements with the respective hotels of the said French tourists. According to the SLTDA, in January this year, Sri Lanka welcomed 82,327 tourists, and in February, the number climbed to 96,507. In March, Sri Lanka witnessed 106,500 arrivals, with a total of 348,314 arrivals for the year by the end of April.      

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