Tourism industry stakeholders yesterday welcomed the decision made by the government to permit the industry to resume operations, a move that would allow the industry to stay afloat.

The Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO), One Industry One Voice members, and the City Restaurants Collective said they commend the efforts taken by President Gotabaya  Rajapaksa and Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga to initiate the necessary steps to gradually open the industry for business. “We are delighted that finally the authorities have relaxed the rules for restaurants and they have taken the steps to vaccinate the front line staff of all tourism related establishments.

We are grateful to the President and Tourism Minister for understanding our issue and cooperating with us to take the industry forward in these difficult times,” the associations said in a joint statement to the media yesterday.