Sri Lanka ramps up vaccinations and opens borders
Rising coronavirus case and death counts isn’t swaying Sri Lanka’s outlook for the rest of the year. The government, obviously aware that there are huge risks out there, appears confident that those are all reasonably manageable. It justifies keeping the country’s borders open for tourism amidst the Covid pandemic, saying that Sri Lanka badly needs foreign earnings and save jobs in the industry, adding that the economy cannot function with closed borders.
Tourism arrivals between January and June 2021 totaled 16,908 – down 96.7% over the same period last year. Likewise, Tourism earnings declined to US$ 22.7 million compared to the US$ 682 million earned during 2020 over the same period.
As the number of COVID-19 cases in Sri Lanka surpasses the 325,000 mark, and, with the total number of deaths exceeding 5,000 since March 2020, the government has stepped up the pace of vaccinating the population - mindful that allowing unvaccinated people to be exposed to variants of the virus… can swiftly turn predictions into blind optimism.
‘Our World in Data’ tracks Sri Lanka’s rate of vaccination at 60+ doses administered per 100 people (world average = 55), and over 48 % of population have been vaccinated, with 11% of the population receiving both doses, as of 03rd August 2021.
To stimulate the fast recovery of tourism, Sri Lanka has opened its borders. Aviation authorities are permitting airlines to Sri Lanka, to fly a full complement of passengers, after removing the ‘75 passengers’ maxim regulation, provided all passengers are fully vaccinated.
Travelers from most countries who are fully vaccinated 14 days prior to travel no longer have to go into quarantine after arrival. They will however, be required to acquire a visa, health insurance and present a negative COVID-19 test result taken no longer than 72 hours before their trip. Thereafter, they must stay one night in a hotel, until the results of their PCR test done on arrival tests negative, before been allowed to proceed on their holiday.
The industry stakeholders have come on board to offer a ‘Summer Special’ to reopen Sri Lanka as a safe destination for tourism. National carrier Sri Lankan Airlines is launching a fresh promotion this summer where together with the tourism industry; it will unveil a ‘buy-one-get-one-free’ offer. It has also resumed flights to Moscow after a six year hiatus. Reciprocally, Russia’s Aeroflot will commence twice-weekly flights from Moscow to Colombo, with effect from 1st September 2021.
Given the risks overlooked, it is very important that tourist demand does return soon for Sri Lanka.
Shafeek Wahab – Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Trainer, Ex-Hotelier
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