UK Foreign Office issues new travel advisory for Sri Lanka, downgrades warning

Friday, June 7, 2019

Travel to Sri Lanka is no longer restricted for British traveller after the UK Foreign Office advised a change. The new advice that urged British travellers to ‘remain vigilant’ in the wake of Easter Sunday terror attack was welcomed by tour operators and hoteliers.

As per the update on June 6 –terrorists are very likely to carry out attacks in Sri Lanka and travellers should ‘remain vigilant’ and avoid crowded public places, large gatherings and demonstrations.

Four days after the Easter Sunday terror attacks that killed 253 people that included eight British national the FCO had issues warning against all but essential travel on April 25.

According to  a Foreign Office spokesperson they had kept their travel advice for Sri Lanka under constant review since the Easter Sunday attacks and had  advised against all but essential travel. Their  latest assessment of the risk to British nationals now means they  have revised their travel advice accordingly.

Ahead of the busy summer months tour operators and hoteliers appreciated the change.

Sam Clark, founder of Experience Travel, which specialises in south and south-east Asia mentioned that for a country in which tourism represents 11% of GDP and provides employment for 6% of the total population, this was a huge news . The UK is the second largest market for Sri Lanka by passenger numbers, but by far and away the biggest in terms of spend.

He went on saying that the body blow of losing $2bn worth of business already [during the FCO ban] will be very significant.

The  change will allow travellers who have not cancelled to travel during the peak season months of July and September will be able to continue their holidays as normal.

The #LoveSriLanka online initiative and through social media was launched by the Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance, a group of tour operators, agents, hotels and airlines from or working in Sri Lanka in the wake of the attacks.

It was aimed at rebuilding international  confidence, provide credible “on the ground” information and updates from and for tourists, and support Sri Lanka’s travel industry during the recovery phase.

The alliance reassured potential travellers that the country was safe but FCO adviced against all but essential travel intending that most planned trips were either cancelled or postponed.

The statistics presented to the FCO by British-based tour operators revealed that up to 80% of hotel bookings got cancelled and thousands of people relying  on tourism for work including tut tuk and taxi drivers, chauffeurs and guides were left with virtually no income.

Malik Fernando, managing director of Resplendent Ceylon hotel group, a founding member of the #LoveSriLanka campaign stated that the alliance would continue to market the country and there was still a lot of work in rebuilding confidence and getting back to previous levels of hotel occupancy. It could take six months to a year.

A state of emergency remains in place in Sri Lanka and curfews are still being used at short notice. The authorities should confirm that the passengers have a passport and  a valid flight ticket will only be permitted to travel during the curfew periods.

There will be a ban on clothing or objects that conceal the face to prevent the wearer’s identification as per the emergency regulations.

Earlier in May countries including China, India, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland had relaxed their travel advice. However, Ireland and Australia still have warnings in place.

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