President’s Office wants travellers insured!
The tourism industry has been confronted with another proposal mired in controversy and alleged shady deals leaving the stakeholders wondering what could compel Presidential advisors to insist on the adoption of an insurance scheme for anyone entering the country be it tourist or diaspora.
A letter has been sent out to the associations of the tourism industry on June 14 requesting them to adopt an insurance scheme from Lloyds that will then give the SME sector a credit line of US$135 million to boost the sector.
The same request when brought up in January had been rejected by the industry in a joint letter highlighting that it was “impractical.”
However, it has now raised its head in a new form through a letter from an advisor to the President on EU, ACP and UK Affairs Niranjan Joseph De Silva Deva Aditya who is also the Presidential Envoy to the Western Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations; Ambassadorial rank.
The letter has also been copied to the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairman Priantha Fernando.
The letter also states that this proposal is “well received by the Presidential Secretariat and such international cooperation is to be encouraged”.
According to the letter the implementation of the said proposal would “help to restore confidence in the safety of travel and encourage more visitors to Sri Lanka”.
This said insurance scheme is to be provided by Lloyds through their brokers in Colombo, All Seasons Underwriting Insurance Brokers Ltd who is said to be currently in negotiation with the Tourism Ministry and the SLTDA on the proposed comprehensive Emergency Medical Insurance Scheme and the connected reimbursable grant scheme. This grant is expected to be loaned to the SME sector of the tourism industry to be repaid at the rate of 6 per cent p.a. over a period of three years. This money is said to be pledged by Bel Asset Management Inc of Montreal Canada and channelled through the HSBC Bank.
Industry sources point out that they have obtained reliable information to state that Bel Asset Management Inc of Montreal Canada is lacking in credibility to be dealing with in order to obtain a loan.
According to the plan anyone entering the country will be compelled to obtain this insurance cover as the cost of it will be included in the airfare itself with $37 of which $12 would be transferred to the tourism emergency fund. This particular fund is expected to help the industry in the eventuality that they face another crisis.
But the industry is averse to its implementation and believes they do not need to insist on travellers purchasing an insurance policy when visiting the country.
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