New Sri Lanka travel advice welcomed by travel trade

The FCO moved promptly to advise against all but essential travel to Sri Lanka following a series of bombings targeting hotels and churches on Easter Sunday, which claimed more than 250 lives.

However, the effective travel ban was lifted on Thursday (6 June), albeit with the caveat that tourists should remain vigilant to the threat of terrorism and be aware of possible curfews.

It came after a handful of governments across mainland European revised their travel advice for Sri Lanka over the past fortnight.

Aito chairman Derek Moore praised the efforts of the Sri Lankan people to lobby for the resumption of visits from UK tourists. “I know that Aito members, and the UK travel industry as a whole, will be very happy indeed to send their customers to this gem of an island again.

“When a destination so popular with members’ customers suffers an incident, as Sri Lanka has, this is the time for us to show our support for the people in the destination by travelling there, rather than turning our backs on them.”

Sam Clark, co-founder of Asia specialist Experience Travel Group, said the trade could now get on with “showing the world what a wonderful and welcoming destination Sri Lanka is”. “We thank the many clients who waited to see how the situation settled and have decided to support Sri Lanka by continuing to travel.

“Brits are resilient travellers, and their ongoing support for Sri Lanka reflects the deep affection travellers have for the country, its people and its world-class tourism offering.”

Abta said the decision came as welcome news to members with Sri Lanka programmes, customers due to travel to the island and the people of Sri Lanka, “many of whose livelihoods are dependent on visitors from the UK”.