Sri Lanka permits tourists to travel without restrictions during lockdown period
Sri Lanka’s Tourism Ministry has stated that tourists in the country will be allowed to travel unrestricted despite the Covid 19 lockdown.
Ministry of Tourism Secretary S. Hettiarachchi has told The Morning that all relevant authorities have been informed to allow tourists permission to travel with unrestricted access in accordance with a letter issued by the Director General of Health Services (DGHS).
“Tourists are allowed outside and all relevant authorities have been informed of this. Tourists will not face any restrictions except the ones already imposed such as health guidelines, for their own safety as well as the safety of those around them,” Hettiarachchi has been quoted as saying, adding “I have informed the Department of Wildlife and other relevant areas of tourism to open their tourist attractions such as Yala National Park for tourists to continue on in their respective tours.”
Hettiarachchi has further noted that although the Ministry was not able to send out official circulars, the necessary directions for the operations to continue.
“Because we do not have time to issue official circulars at the moment, I have prepared a letter and have distributed it among the relevant authorities and officials such as the Department of Wildlife Conservation, the DG etc. And in addition, I have also submitted the DGHS letter and the IGP’s letter where they said tourism is allowed to function for further clarification.”
Accordingly, Hettiarachchi added that all relevant parties have agreed to accept tourists at a reasonable capacity as they will be operating with limited staff.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s one time key revenue generator is once again on the path to recovery after facing the impact of the global Covid 19 pandemic. Local authorities have taken all measures to ensure tourists visiting Sri Lanka are permitted to visit the many tourist attractions in the country. With Sri Lanka tourism authorities launching attractive promotional campaigns, there is a steady increase in tourist arrivals to the country. All this has once again expanded the business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/30082021/Z_8 |