So, Sri Lanka...Here we come

Sri Lanka will re-open its two airports to international flights from 21^st January 2021.

Travelers will need to show a negative COVID test taken within 96 hours before arrival, submit to a 1st test on arrival, (not at the airport, but at the hotel) and take a 2^nd test within 5 to 7 days after arrival. If the visit is beyond 7 days, they will have to submit to a 3^rd test within 10 to 14 days post-arrival. Travelers will also have to pay for all mandatory PCR tests. There is no minimum stay requirement.

Note: Testing 4 days prior to arrival is fine so long as travelers keep up to the safety protocols thereafter. What’s the point of being tested on Thursday and getting infected on Saturday before one’s flight? Remember though that testing isn’t the perfect system but is the best for now. One cannot be positive or negative on a test until at least three days after getting infected. Usually 5- 8 days is the norm. Taking a flight even after testing negative can still lead to infection en-route. Hence, entering quarantine is the best bet. The minimum exit from quarantine period is after a negative result from a test taken after day 4 or 5 of quarantine.

Let’s map the traveler’s journey beginning with the entry to the airport terminal, after disembarking from the plane:

• Show proof of negative COVID-19 result of a test taken within 96 hours of arrival, issued by an accredited laboratory.
• Hand over the Health declaration form.
• Produce evidence of COVID-19 insurance cover for US$ 50,000 valid upto one month.
• Provide proof of hotel booking in a tier-one hotel that has been certified by the SLTDA as ‘Safe & Secure’.
• Finalize ‘contact tracer’ formalities
• Proceed to the Immigration desk to be formally cleared to enter the country.
• Collect bags from the carousel.
• Pass through customs.
• Exit airport via taxi (visitors’ airport transportation vis-à-vis hotel or Travel agent, must be arranged in advance).

The immediate challenge is to ensure that all of the above comes together seamlessly to make it least inconvenient to the traveler. For certain this would be a key barometer with which travelers would compare their experiences at different airports and thanks to the power of social media, the entire world would soon be aware - which airports have got their act together and which ones haven’t.

The next stage of the traveler’s journey is the ‘quarantine’ period. I do wish we can replace the word ‘quarantine’ – which conveys the message of illness and despite the need for ‘care’, is not the most appropriate ‘tag line’ for holidaying.

With regard to accommodation, all travelers must spend their initial 14 days in a tier-one hotel, however, within this period, guests are permitted to stay in more than one hotel that are certified ‘Safe & Secure’, provided the first PCR is negative and tourists are travelling under a bio-security bubble. Arrangements to visit the permitted tourist sites daily with dedicated time slots for tourists to travel in a bio bubble are possible.

Guest is permitted to interact with the community only after 14 days stay, subject to negative PCR test results. Hotels can operate with a maximum capacity of 75 & and can open spas and swimming pools for resident tourists.

Let’s now, visualize the probable experiences the traveler will face on his or hers journey to the hotel after exiting the airport:-

• On arrival, the difference in the ‘meet and greet’ welcome is immediately noticed.
• Masked, perhaps even gloved staff will beckon to enter from a distance – with no handshakes.
• At the hotel, the guest will submit to the 1^st COVID-19 test prior to check-in.
• The changes from the pre-pandemic routine include a zero or minimal ‘contactless’ check-in. Some hotels may roll out the best practice of obtaining the traveler’s registration details including passport, contact, credit card, etc. prior to his or her arrival, whilst others may not be that proactive in that aspect.
• Be offered a ‘wellness kit’ instead of the welcome drink we all have become accustomed to. No reason though for not providing one – and an herbal concoction may be extra re-assuring.
• One might receive the hotel’s app to lock / unlock one’s room door when shown to the allocated room. The app may also enable the guest to order room service after accessing the menu from a QR code found in the welcome docket.
• Other hotels will issue sanitised key cards/tagged keys.
• Be prepared to see minimum bathroom amenities / toiletries. Instead, apart from soap, there may be another wellness kit - with a sanitizer, face mask and perhaps a pair of gloves, placed inside.
• Guest’s movement within the hotel would be restricted to a minimum, until the on-arrival (1^st) PCR test result is negative. Test results may come within 3-6 hours of taking test.
• Minimal housekeeping presence will be the order of the day. No longer will housekeeping come twice daily and forget about any turndown service. When housekeeping staff do arrive, they will be masked, wear a disposal gown over their uniform and be gloved as well.
• During this period, Wi-Fi in the room will be the traveler’s constant link with the outside world. Pray that it is both fast and efficient.
• In-room entertainment will help overcome the boredom of staying in the room.

Shafeek Wahab - Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Trainer, Ex-hotelier.

•  Share this page