SITUATION UPDATE SRI LANKA Tourism

8th Sep, 2022

SITUATION UPDATE

SRI LANKA

(As of 5th September 2022)

No protests taking place and Sri Lanka remains open for tourism.

No fuel queues anymore

Tourism is made an essential service

Denmark, France, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, Belgium, New

Zealand, and Canada have relaxed their travel advisories on Sri Lanka

Walkers Tours will be present at IFTM starting 20th September

Indian Road Show planned in Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Delhi from 28th to 30th

September, and Walkers Tours will be present

Much awaited Lotus Tower (the tallest tower in South Asia) will be open for tourists

from the 15th of September

VAT to be increased to 15% from 1st September 22’

Highlights

The political front

His excellency Ranil Wickremesinghe and the government is working towards an

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economic recovery plan. As the first step its noteworthy to mention that on 1st

September 2022, IMF staff and the Sri Lankan authorities have reached a staff-level

agreement to support Sri Lanka's economic policies with a 48-month arrangement

under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of about US$2.9 billion

(IMF Staff Reaches Staff-Level Agreement on an Extended Fund Facility Arrangement

with Sri Lanka)

The political and social stability has instilled confidence amongst the international

communities and as a result Denmark, France, Netherland, Norway, Sweden,

Switzerland, United Kingdom, Belgium, New Zealand, and Canada have relaxed the

travel advisories which were imposed on Sri Lanka. This is a very positive sign for the

recovery of tourism in the destination.

Denmark

France

Netherlands

Norway

Sweden

Belgium

Canada

Switzerland

New Zealand

Countries that have relaxed their travel advisories news tax increases

Status of Fuel & Gas Availability

The QR code-based fuel quota system introduced for

the general public is proven successful. There are no

queues for fuel and cooking gas. The measures

taken by the government to maintain a steady flow

of supply of both fuel and gas have helped to cater

to the domestic demand.

Tourism sector has been identified as an essential

service and there is a special mechanism in place to

source the required fuel for tourism purposes without

a limitation.

As per the interim budget presented last week,

there is an increase of the Value Added Tax

(VAT) from 12% to 15% with effect from the 1st of

September 2022. This is the second revision in

the recent past where the first change

happened in June where the VAT was revised

from 8% to 12%.

Current Status of Tourist Arrivals

Month

2021

2022

2022/2021 %

January

1,682

82,327

4795%

February

3,366

96,507

2767%

March

4,581

106,500

2225%

April

4,168

62,980

1411%

May

1,497

30,207

1918%

June

1,614

32,856

1936%

July

2,429

47,293

1847%

August

5,040

37,760

646%

Septepmber

13,547

October

22,771

November

44,294

December

89,506

194,495

496,430

Walkers Tours will continue to maintain the diesel storage in Colombo and in

selected satellite locations with the help of our sister company Cinnamon

Hotels and Resorts.

The month of August has recorded

a total of 37,760 tourists which is

20% lower than the July arrival

figure. We believe this may have

been mainly due to the negative

travel advisories which were

imposed on Sri Lanka. The number

of arrivals are expected to take a

sharp turn upwards in the coming

months leading to the winter

season.

Refer year-to-date arrivals (Source SLTDA | Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority)

Walkers Tours Fuel StoragePromotional Activities

Sri Lankan Cricket Legend Sanath Jayasuriya met Indian film

star Mammootty on 15th August. Top Indian actor is

currently filming in Sri Lanka and will feature in the Netflix

original ‘Kadugannawa Oru Yatra’, of which parts of the

filming will be filmed in Colombo and Kadugannawa.

(NewsWire)

(Sanath Jayasuriya meets Indian Actor Mammootty - NewsWire)

SL-focused promotion office opens in Ahmedabad to woo

visitors from Gujarat. The first-ever Sri Lanka-specific office

was opened in Ahmedabad on 20th August to attract more

visitors from the Indian state of Gujarat.

(SL-focussed promotion office opens in Ahmedabad to woo visitors from Gujarat | Daily FT)

The tourism sector stakeholders announced their

decision to independently take part in International

French Travel Market (IFTM) 2022, to capitalise on the

increasing arrivals for the upcoming winter season. As Sri

Lanka Tourism will not participate in the travel show held

in Paris, the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour

Operators (SLAITO) said its members decided to “take a

stand to represent Sri Lanka”.

(SLAITO to represent Sri Lanka at upcoming French Travel Show - Business News | Daily Mirror)

A road show in India covering three main cities are planned to be held end September. Led by the

Tourism Promotions Bureau a Sri Lankan delegation consisting hoteliers and DMC’s are planning to

participate at the roadshow. The minister of Tourism will join the event in all three cities. The tentative

Schedule is as follows:

September 26th – New Delhi

September 28th – Mumbai

September 30th – Hyderabad

Sri Lanka Conventions Bureau (SLCB) conducted a roadshow in Bangladesh. The roadshow was held on

1st September in Dhaka and approximately 80 corporates and travel agencies participated for the

event. Walkers Tours was present at the event.Colombo Lotus Tower to open on 15th Sept : Ticket prices announced

Lotus Tower also referred to as Colombo Lotus Tower, is a 350 m (1,150 ft)

tall tower, located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It has been called a symbolic

landmark of Sri Lanka. As of 2019, the tower is the tallest self-supported

structure in South Asia; the second tallest structure in South Asia after the

guy-wire-supported INS Kattabomman in India; the 11th tallest tower in

Asia and the 19th tallest tower in the world

Ticket prices

Locals normal pass : LKR 500

Locals unlimited pass : LKR 2000

Foreigners : US$ 20

Sri Lanka Tourism will participate at WTM in

November together with the travel industry

partners. Walkers Tours will be present at

WTM.

Summary

The travel advisories getting relaxed sends a very positive message that the

country is safe to travel. The country remains very safe and calm with no

protests taking place. The availability and supply of fuel and cooking gas is

normalized. We strongly believe that the coming few months the destination will

witness a sharp upward turn on the arrival figures and we expect the winter

season to be a busy one for Sri Lanka this year.

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SITUATION UPDATE SRI LANKA Tourism

SITUATION UPDATE

SRI LANKA

Highlights

The political front

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recovery of tourism in the destination.

Denmark

Current Status of Tourist Arrivals

Month

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