3 June 2019 12:01 am
The Tourism Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) said they remained concerned as to why UK is yet to relax the travel ban on Sri Lanka, despite the improvement in the country’s security situation following the Easter Sunday bombings on April 21,
“UK being the single largest market for Sri Lanka from Europe with great air connectivity, we are eagerly waiting for UK to revisit the advisory taking into consideration what other countries have done.
“Currently hotels countrywide are receiving inquiries from British guests who traditionally visit the country during August school holidays and are unable to finalize their travel plans due to the ban,” a THASL communiqué said.
“We appeal to the UK government to reconsider their stance on Sri Lanka,” it added.
Last week China, India, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and many other European countries relaxed the travel bans imposed on Sri Lanka following the bomb attacks.
Meanwhile, THASL said they take the security of hotels and their visitors seriously and are continuously looking at security training and enhancements.
“A series of seminars on hotel security and safety with Sri Lankan, US and UK experts are planned in the coming weeks and the first in the series is scheduled on 9th June at the Kingsbury Hotel, where Dr Rohan Gunaratna Professor of Security Studies at NTU in Singapore will deliver a special address on ‘Threat of Islamic State: Managing Hotel Security,’ THASL communiqué said.
Italy relaxes travel advisory
Italian Embassy in Colombo last Friday announced that it updated its travel advisory on its website for all Italian nationals travelling to Sri Lanka.
The new update advises Italian nationals intending to travel to Sri Lanka during this period, to exercise the utmost caution, keeping attention at the threshold in all circumstances.
The improved outlook of the update added that the security situation in Sri Lanka is gradually returning to normal even if a state of emergency is still in force until June 21st.
The update further recommended avoiding the areas directly affected by possible police operations and the points with large public turnout, such as places of worship, shopping centres, events, etc., limiting travel in general, and following local authorities’ indications.
It also advised travellers to keep updated with news on any further developments.
The update further informed prospective Italian travellers that Colombo’s international airport is operational and that those departing from Sri Lanka should reach early due to additional security checks.