News
A slow trickle, but it means a lot
Tourists are enjoying the not-over-crowded beaches
Tourists have started returning to the South, giving hope to those engaged in the industry that the trade would bounce back with the relaxing of pandemic restrictions
The gradual return of tourists has seen locals return to their previous economic activities in the industry, which they had abandoned when there were no tourists due to the pandemic, and during which time they did not get any support from the government.
Yasiru Malshan (27), who runs a surf camp, said that the situation is getting better with about 30 percent of the situation reaching normalcy with the arrival of tourists. He said that he did not get any help from the government, and had to mortgage his home and use the monies to re-start his camp.
“I run a surf camp at Weligama beach. There are around 40 surfing camps, and there are 9 people in my camp. Russians, Lebanese, Israelis and Germans mostly; they have less parties, therefore there are fewer issues,” he said.
Ruba Berzghal
Pavel Kalinin
He added that apart from the beach clean-up carried out by the help of the mayor, no other government body had helped the persons who are engaged in the industry.
“This beach is world famous, but there is no public shower or washrooms, and currently there are no lifeguards. There is a major problem of some foreigners running illicit businesses, such as selling drugs with the support of politicians,” he said.
The tourists too were happy to be back at the beaches, spending their winter season in tropical Sri Lanka. They, too, were optimistic that the tourism industry would recover despite the setbacks created by the global pandemic. They said that they enjoy spending their time leisurely in Sri Lanka as tourism activities resume.
Ruba Berzghal (30) said that as the lockdown ended everybody came back to Weligama and started working.
Sriyanjani Priyadarshani is a beeralu lace weaver
“There is lots of movement, there is expectancy of a peak tourist season, and we are seeing lots of people outside; it’s good. Beaches are full at sunset time in Weligama,” Berzghal said.
Yasiru Malshan
Berzghal said that even though it was not the way it was in November 2019 before the pandemic, yet, tourism looked promising following the relaxation of lockdown.
“Many of my friends had to give up their business because landlords were too tough. We were lucky, we managed to keep it running at low cost until now, and we are finally ready to open for the season hopefully. I got good support from the locals,” she said.
Israeli nationals Tai Ilayev (26) and Noga Zloty (24) said that they came here a week ago and were enjoying the climate. They said that they met a lot of tourists and were feeling welcomed by the locals. “Finally we are able to travel again,” they expressed happily.
They said that they felt the airports were safe, and said that the plane they travelled on was nearly empty. They advised tourists to avoid crowded places to stay safe from Covid-19.
Pavel Kalinin (35), a Russian national who flew to Sri Lanka for the first time, said that he had a wonderful travel experience.
“One month ago a small amount of tourists were here, but currently tourist numbers are getting better day by day,” he said.
He said that traveling from Russia to Sri Lanka was not difficult even with the pandemic and he faced no problems. He said that the PCR test was done when he started the journey from Russia.
Visitors soak up the sun, surf and sand