Sri Lanka has recently decided to implement a short term action plan to revive the country’s tourism industry which has been harshly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcement was officially made by Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga where he mentioned that over the next four months, the Sri Lankan government will allocate nearly $1 million to revive tourism and confirmed that the short term action plan has been finalised.
As a part of the latest plan 12 new tourist attraction sites identified in several districts would be developed while community tourist villages would also be developed. It was also announced that the action plan will be taken to modernise the Negombo, Kandy, and Kalutara railway stations, in outer Colombo, central highlands, and the south, within the next four months under a project to upgrade the railway stations so that it can attract more local and foreign tourists.
In addition, three old forts in Mannar, Kalpitiya, and Batticaloa which are under the supervision of the Archaeology Department will also be further developed. Nearly 500,000 tourists arrived in Sri Lanka from January to March this year. However, as a result of the pandemic, the country’s international airports were closed and the tourism industry was affected. The government has also mentioned that the airport will remain closed till a time when rescue flights are completed.
Tags: Coronavirus, Covid-19, Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Tourism
