Sri Lanka welcomes first tourists since pandemic shutdown

Monday, 30 Dec, 2020 0

After a long eight months of border closures, Sri Lanka has welcomed its first groups of tourists.

Two groups of travellers from the Ukraine have now arrived in the past two days under a pilot program to restart the country’s tourism sector.

Under a ‘bio-bubble’ they are able to visit designated tourist spots.

On arrival the visitors underwent PCR Covid tests before being transported to designated hotels.

They will all be tested again over the next few days.

The pilot project will run until late January, Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said.

About 2,500 tourists will be arriving under the program over the next two weeks, mainly from CIS countries.

Sri Lanka closed its borders in March and eased lockdowns in mid-May. It had planned to reopen inbound tourism earlier this year but was hit with a second wave of Covid infections.

The minister said if the pilot proves to be a success with no further spike in infections, airports will open again for scheduled flight services.

"This is a great start. The national carrier too will promote tourism and encourage foreign visitors with the government agreeing to extend us the same guidelines to our passengers," said SriLankan Airlines Chairman Ashok Pathirage.

Written by Ray Montgomery, Asia Editor

TravelMole Editorial Team

Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.

Our Mission Ecommerce has transformative powers, and we believe everyone should be able to take part. But outdated solutions and...

Some describe it as a natural playground. Some say, it’s simply unique as it offers a great array of travel...

Atout France guides and supports the French regions with their development strategy and helps set up investment projects in order...

Chargebacks911 offers scalable solutions that are customized for any business of any size in any industry. With the flexibility to...

Welcome to Qatar Airways Qatar Airways is proud to be one of the youngest global airlines to serve all...

If you’re thinking of cruising, there’s a very good chance you’re considering a Carnival cruise. Growing since our founding in...

SOUTH AUSTRALIA. FOR THOSE WHO WANT A LITTLE MORE. South Australia. It’s a beautiful place. A place for the restless,...

IHG Hotels & Resorts: Redefining Hospitality Excellence IHG Hotels & Resorts is a globally renowned hospitality company that stands at...

The Paris 2024 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games is responsible for planning, organising, financing and delivering the...

The Polish Tourism Organisation (Polska Organizacja Turystyczna – POT) is one of several dozen national tourism organisations operating in the...

ITB Asia, Asia’s Leading Travel Trade Show, is an annually held B2B trade show and convention for the travel industry; it is designed...

City Cruises is a leading operator of sightseeing, dining and charter services operating in London, York and Poole. We offer...

The Oregon Tourism Commission, dba Travel Oregon, works to enhance visitors’ experiences by providing information, resources and trip planning tools...

Destination British Columbia (Destination BC) is a Provincially funded, industry-led Crown corporation that supports a strong and competitive future for BC’s...

It’s easy to find perfection in Santa Barbara, but what if there was even more of your favorite finds, activities,...

ECOMMPAY is an international payment service provider and direct bank card acquirer, engineering bespoke payment solutions for clients worldwide. Our...