Extension of state of emergency to hit tourism industry hard

• Tourist arrivals expected to further dip
• More countries likely to impose travel bans on SL
• Sector was of view Prez RW will lift emergency 

By Shabiya Ali Ahlam
The decision to extend the state of emergency for a month by Parliament yesterday will further hit the tourism industry that is expected to bring in the necessary foreign exchange to Sri Lanka, as more countries could slap travel bans on Sri Lanka. 

Shortly after the proclamation by Parliament yesterday, they said while declaring a state of emergency was bad enough to the hard-hit sector, the decision to continue with it is an extremely negative signal.

“Our arrivals to the country will further drop in the coming weeks and months. We cannot promote or sell a destination when a state of emergency is imposed. This is well known. It is going to get tougher for us as we go forward,” The Hotels Association Sri Lanka (THASL) President M. Shanthikumar said.

He shared that the tourism sector stakeholders were of the view that President Ranil Wickremesinghe would lift the state of emergency without much delay. 

However, last evening, Parliament voted to continue the state of emergency with 120 members voting for and 63 voting against.

Reflecting similar sentiments, the Sri Lanka Association of Tourism Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) said the proclamation would negatively impact on tourist arrivals.

The SLAITO said more governments would issue travel advisories against Sri Lanka and it is near impossible to remove the advisories that are already in place.

“It just gets worse. With travel advisories issued against the nation, tourists do not feel safe coming in. Also, making matters worse is that insurance companies are not keen to offer travel insurance policies in nations with emergency imposed. Even if they do, the policies are very expensive. This doesn’t augur well for us,” said SLAITO Immediate Past President Mahen Kariyawasam.