By Zahida Rizvi–Sri Lanka’s tourism industry has tabled a financial aid request to the Government in an attempt to revive the industry from the unprecedented global health crisis, the third Covid wave, The Sunday Morning Business learnt. THASL further predicted that the ongoing travel restrictions imposed on tourists, the slow vaccination process, and further delays in introducing the vaccine passports will have a major impact on the tourism industry. Nevertheless, the CBSL last month declared an extension of debt moratoriums as financial relief for Covid-19-affected businesses and individuals in the tourism industry. Following the outbreak of the pandemic last year, Sri Lanka reopened its borders on 21 January after a 10-month pandemic closure. Accordingly, by the end of 2019, the SLTDA recorded 1.9 million arrivals, which was a drop in comparison to the 2.3 million tourist arrivals of 2018.

Source: The Nation May 15, 2021 22:41 UTC