US relaxes travel advisory on Sri Lanka

The US State Department has relaxed its travel advisory for Sri Lanka, the US Embassy said. 

Accordingly, the State department has downgraded the level of travel advisory for Sri Lanka from three to two on Monday.

When travelling to the countries in level three category, the US asks of its citizens to ‘reconsider travel’ but asks to ‘exercise increased caution’ when travelling to countries in level two category.

The updated advisory said, “exercise increased caution in Sri Lanka due to terrorism.” 

It further said on June 24, the US Department of State lifted the ordered departure status of family members of US government employees under the age of 18 as well as the authorised departure status of non-emergency US government employees and family members.

However, it said terrorists may still attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets, shopping malls, government facilities, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, parks, major sporting and cultural events, educational institutions, airports, hospitals and other public areas in Sri Lanka.

“The US government has limited ability to provide emergency services to US citizens in Sri Lanka due to the security environment,” it said.