India is Sri Lanka’s largest inbound market and Indian travellers are looking for alternate countries as they don’t want to visit conflict-ridden Sri Lanka. The present political and economic crisis in Sri Lanka threatens to devastate the country’s tourist industry, which is valued at more than $3.6 billion and is the country’s third-largest foreign exchange earner.
Sri Lanka’s tourist prospects had just begun to improve after a string of losses stretching back to pre-Covid days, but that improvement may have been short-lived. Dealing with what is claimed to be the country’s greatest economic crisis, Sri Lanka has seen a wave of anti-government protests over rising food, gasoline, and medical shortages, as well as unprecedented power failures. On Sunday, the country experienced a social media blackout as a result of a curfew and declaration of a state of emergency.
SOTC Travel, which operates in a variety of travel segments, including leisure travel, has observed that Indian customers are rescheduling their travel plans.
“The island nation is a favorite of Indian consumers and with easy access and a delightful diversity, we do hope to see an improvement and revival,” hoped Daniel D’Souza, president and country head — holidays, SOTC Travel.
Tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka surpassed 100,000 for the first time in two years in March 2022, bringing the total from January to March to moreover 280,000. This means that visitor visits in the first three months of 2022 surpassed the 194,000 milestones set in 2021. However, the country’s present political uncertainty, along with the economic crisis, threatens to damage the tourist industry.
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