Tour package prices rise amidst health woes
Taking a tourist on a trip to Sri Lanka today has become slightly more complicated than before in view of the protocols and the additional expenses incurred as a result of which tour package prices have shot up and the industry is fighting hard to remain competitive amidst the current pandemic.
Tour packages to Sri Lanka have increased to US$800 as a result of the increase in extra costs and this is not inclusive of the airfare.
Tour operators in Sri Lanka are questioning the logic of selling a destination at such high rates as the US$12 insurance cover has to be obtained with payments to be made to Sri Lanka Tourism (SLT) and in this respect with a direct charge of $3 by the SLT. Tourists cannot obtain an insurance cover from their home countries nor allow tour operators to obtain it directly from the insurance companies.
Further the PCR test costing $40 too has to be carried out with payments made directly to the SLT that would amount to about $120 for three tests carried out on a tourist staying in Sri Lanka for about ten days.
It was pointed out by tour agents that they had learnt of changes made to the regulations that allow hotels to accommodate local tourists during the weekends and foreign tourists during the week. Previous regulations called for hotels to ensure that if they do accommodate foreign tourists then they cannot allow local tourists to holiday at the same hotel.
Moreover, it was pointed out that DMCs were also asked to obtain KPMG approval of safe and secure but this kind of approval it was found to be a requirement within Sri Lanka alone.