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Opening SL for tourism: Task Force holds first meeting
A Task Force appointed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to facilitate the opening of Sri Lanka for tourism held its first meeting on Friday, the Sunday Times learns.
The Task Force headed by former Minister Basil Rajapaksa comprises Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga; Army Commander Shavendra Silva, who also heads the National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 & ; Airport & Aviation Services Limited (AASL) Chairman G.A. Chandrasiri; Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairperson Kimarli Fernando; and Health Ministry Secretary Dr. S.H. Munasinghe.
“The meeting of the Task Force held at the National Operations Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO), Rajagiriya, on Friday lasted over 90 minutes. We discussed the opening of the country for tourism and how to accommodate tourists coming in, while adhering to health guidelines,” said AASL Chairman, Major General (Retd) G.A. Chandrasiri.
The Task Force will decide on a mechanism for opening the airport for tourists which will be foolproof, looking at all health aspects, security aspects and how to face any contingency, he said, adding that no decision has been taken on when the airport is to be opened.
Mr. Chandrasiri said the plan is to look at certain countries which do not have COVID-19 or are not highly affected by COVID-19 such as Germany and New Zealand and bring certain groups from those countries initially.
“The initial group of 50 tourists would go through the standard procedure of having RT-PCR tests done before departing their country, on-arrival RT-PCR tests, being transported to designated hotels, with their travel itinerary in Sri Lanka decided beforehand,” he said, adding that it was still in the planning stages and nothing had been finalised yet.