14-day bubble tours in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Tourism on Thursday opened its doors to international travellers after a 10-month lapse with new health guidelines to follow amidst a crowded gathering under questionable safety precautions at the event itself.
As Sri Lanka opens its doors to the world, Sri Lanka has to ensure that the place is safe, secure and serene, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority Chairperson Kimarli Fernando said as she launched the guidelines on the health regulations at the Atrium lobby of the Cinnamon Grand in Colombo.
Participants at the launch of the health guidelines
The tourism website is constantly updated and needs to be checked for new information, she said adding that the Command Centre operating 24 hours will be available to monitor and communicate with the industry.
Violating the health guidelines could amount to an offence and in this respect the travel and tour agencies should inform the clients of the regulations to follow and ensure no violations occur during the tour, Ms. Fernando said.
In addition, private sector hospitals will be included in the list of places that tourists falling sick due to COVID-19 could be accommodated where the insurance for COVID-19 is applicable, she said adding that however, any asymptomatic patients could be housed within the hotels itself separately.
In this respect, 25 per cent of the rooms in the hotels are to be kept vacant as tourists are allowed to stay in only Level 1 hotels during the first 14 days of their stay and tour of the country, Ms. Fernando highlighted.
Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga addressing the gathering pointed out that the purpose of these new normal measures is to ensure that tourists do not infect the community and vice versa.
With no targets set out the minister said that they hope to better the numbers achieved in the past in time to come in addition to the gradual return of airlines to the country as commercial flights are allowed to operate.
He noted that they have opened up 16 identified places for tourists to travel to in addition to shopping at the Laksala shops wherever available. “We want to make sure tourists can be allowed to be free,” the minister said.
Tourism Advisory Committee Chairman Hiran Cooray commended the opening of the borders and pointed out the concerns of the 3 million people suffering as a result of a lack of income due to the absence of tourists.
He also explained how his 94 staff is continuously being tested every other day and another backup staff is also being maintained on the premises of the Lighthouse hotel, Galle itself during the tour of the English cricket team.
SriLankan Airlines CEO Ashok Pathirage said that the national carrier is ready to bring down tourists and that they were also looking at opening up new routes to Moscow by February 15.
| Crowding around in new normal | |
| The event itself was a crowded affair with about 120 participants that had been present with seating at the hotel provided for seven per table.The new normal is believed to be applicable only for the tourists but the locals continue to crowd around although everyone was wearing masks. It was interesting to find out that most hotels in Colombo had been booked and that Sri Lanka Tourism received just this space for its grand re-opening for international tourism to Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, it is learnt that two US visitors arriving on a tourist visa had been asked to book themselves in a Level 1 hotel although they were brought down by a diplomatic mission for construction work. Foreign Ministry approvals had been granted to them to be provided visa on arrival, sources said but since the new tourism regulations are in force from January 21 the authorities were compelled to ensure they stay in a Level 1 hotel and not just a quarantine hotel under the previous regulations. In this respect, a new issue has arisen as to whether these types of persons should also be subject to the same rules as the tourists that visit the country on leisure. |