Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, has held talks with representatives of Sri Lanka’s tourism and hotel sectors, as he promises to reopen tourism in August.
Sri Lanka’s economy has significantly shrunk as a result of the coronavirus and has declined by 1.5% in 2020. Since 18 March, Sri Lanka has not seen any new tourists.
Mahinda Rajapaksa was quoted saying:
“The Government has decided to take steps to reinstate the tourism industry and agreed to provide grants. I also focused on issues such as the VISA cost, facilities for the tourists in the country, and guidelines to follow when entering the country,”
Sri Lanka’s tourism is struggling with overt militarisation which undermines the economic livelihood of local communities in the North and East. In 2018, the Sri Lanka Campaign reported that the Sri Lanka military owns 21 hotels and resorts across the country.
Read more here: ‘Don’t holiday with war criminals’ – SL Campaign re-launches ethical tourism campaign
Read more from the Colombo Gazette.
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