Sri Lanka awaits more travellers this season
It’s “hakuna matata” on the island of Sri Lanka! The country’s main roads are back to normal, the tourism sites are open and the sector’s workforce is waiting to welcome the world.
At the media briefing held at the Foreign Ministry Deputy Tourism Minister Prof. Ruwan Ranasinghe said that despite the devastating situation due to the cyclone, cyclones are not that common in Sri Lanka but this is the first in 20 years that has affected us severely.
Sri Lanka was hit by Cyclone Ditwah just when it was heading into the peak winter season when the industry welcomes its highest arrivals from December to March.
Prof. Ranasinghe said things are “under control” and telecommunication lines are working, water supply is restored, road networks on the main routes have been cleared except for a few roads inside and the major roads are cleared.
The major roads to tourism zones are open that include Colombo – Kurunegala, Colombo – Katugastota (Kandy), Kurunegala – Padeniya (to Anuradhapura), Kitulgala – Hatton/Nuwara Eliya and the Ella – Wellawaya. However, the rail journeys are not possible as most rail lines have been disrupted.
The state of emergency was declared to mobilise funding and resources to the grassroots level and tourists are already back at Ella, one of the key attraction sites.
“Yesterday (Thursday) I was in Ella and many tourists have arrived,” the deputy minister said adding that not a single tourist was affected and only 60 cases reported and a few more pending with no major incidents.
A media statement issued by the Tourism Ministry states that 4,289 foreign guests were affected as a result of the cyclone as of December.
The statement noted that the wildlife parks, national parks, marine tourism, forests except Knuckles and cultural sites are open.
Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairman Buddhika Hewawasam asked the media to remain “factual” and “supportive”. He noted that this industry is vital to getting the economy back on track.
There were about 60,000 tourists in the country at the time of the cyclone in the last four days, he said adding that today 500-600 hotel rooms are waiting to resume operations.
The authorities are said to have launched a social media campaign to attract more visitors to the country that is looking at bringing down at least 250,000 tourists per month for the next few months.
Hotels Association President Asoka Hettigoda said that they are collecting data from their members to find out the extent of the damage and are in the process of giving it to the authorities in a bid to ensure that they are able to obtain insurance claims.
He also said that the workforce was back to normal and they are helping them to return to work.
Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators Nalin Jayasundere said that there were only a few cancellations and that the overall reservations outnumbered the cancellations.
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