(TAN): The travel industry is bracing for the impact of the horrific attack in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo and Negombo, where the airport is located, on Easter Sunday.
The island nation had welcomed 2.1 million tourists in 2017 and had set the target to double that number this year.
To that effect, it had announced to offer free visas to citizens of more than 30 countries, including the US, UK, European Union and Thailand in an effort to attract tourists during the low Yala monsoon season.
“We will start granting a free visa period for six months from 1 May 2019 for some selected countries during our off-peak period,” The Independent had quoted the country’s tourism minister John Amaratunga as saying. “In the next phase of this programme, we plan to set up a permanent system at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) to issue visas on arrival, as is the practice in many countries.”
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After the Easter Sunday attack, Delhi resident Arindam Ghosh, who had decided to visit Sri Lanka later this year, is rethinking his decision. Speaking to TAN, he said: “I have not decided against visiting Sri Lanka. I do want to go. But considering the situation now, I am going to take a few more days to come to a decision.”
The eight explosions – some of which have been confirmed as suicide blasts – since the morning at hotels, churches and elsewhere, have left more than 200 dead and over 400 injured. The Sri Lankan government has blocked social media to stop rumours from spreading and declared a curfew across the island nation from 1800 hours on Sunday to 0600 hours on Monday.
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Three five star hotels in Colombo were under attack this morning. Explosions took place at Cinnamon Grand Colombo, Shangri-La hotel, Colombo and The Kingsbury, Colombo.
Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority has urged the public to “depend on information from credible sources and refrain from sharing unverified news from unknown sources, which may instigate unnecessary fear”, especially among tourists.
“We kindly request all Colombo and other Hotels to take maximum measures to strengthen security as Hotels have been one of the main targets. Please assist us in spreading the word and let us not forget to help tourists who are currently in Sri Lanka,” it said in a statement.
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This reporter got in touch with an old friend in Colombo to check on her and her family. She said she knew people who had lost family members in today’s violence.
“It’s curfew now. All roads are closed. So eerie,” she said.
“Just praying for peace.”
