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Tourists resorts required to inform police of all domestic guests

Tourist resorts on the island are now required to inform their local police station regarding all bookings made by domestic guests, reports Sri Lanka's Sunday Times.

Details including the names, addresses and dates of arrival and departure of the guests will be passed on to the police.

The data is passed on to the State Intelligence Service (SIS) at Cambridge Place, Colombo, via the District Intelligence Bureau (DIB), the paper said citing a well-informed source.

"we don’t like the idea of compromising the privacy of our clients. However, that is a new requirement by the Police and we have to comply. Otherwise they find fault with us," a resort manager told the paper.

Last year the Sri Lankan police announced plans to track all foreign tourists in the country, claiming it was to "ensure their safety."

The police force, under the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence headed by Gotabaya Rajapaksa, instructed all hotels and guest houses to submit weekly reports of all foreigners staying with them.

In 2012, the country's Immigration and Emigration department launched a permanent monitoring unit aimed at tracking tourists to the country.

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