Cabinet extends grace period for tourist accommodations to settle electricity bills

The hard-hit tourism industry will receive the much sought after relief in the payment of utility bills with the Cabinet of Ministers having approved this week a concession scheme put forward by the Tourism Ministry. 

In an effort to help the tourism sector revive from the dual impacts of the 21/4 attack and the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cabinet earlier this week decided to extend grace period provided to tourist accommodation providers to pay their utility bills.

While initially a grace period was announced for the period 1 March 2020 to 28 February 2021, the Cabinet announced its decision to extend the grace period for another two years from 1 March 2021.

The decision to extend relief for the tourism sector was taken as the industry is yet to witness the expected growth despite the country opening its borders to international travellers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.