Sri Lanka is making plans to attract tourists with a raft of new operating rules for hotels, transport and visas to protect locals and tourists. But will it put off potential tourists?
The visa process will be changed. Visas on arrival have been scrapped. Everyone will need to apply for visa two weeks before arrival and all will be requested to undergo a test that will be selected at the discretion of the Health Ministry.
Sri Lanka Tourism officials expect it may take about a year to recover.
An app is being developed to track and provide situational information on Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 situation to tourists. This app will be available for download at the Sri Lanka tourism official website. The software will not be used to reference or market any hotel or service provider but to simply act as a mode of getting information to, and on, tourists.
When tourists arrive in the airport, authorities will know all the information about them, where they have travelled and so on. On arrival they will be subjected to medical tests. After this process, tourists who are tested healthy will proceed onto immigration where all normal procedures will take place and they will be given an app which, when registered, gives all the information on Sri Lanka and all the certified hotels in regard to COVID-19.
The country will also have certified transport and when they enter their hotels there will be a detailed protocol to be followed. There will be strict guidelines given to hotels on how housekeeping should be done while adhering to all COVID-19 preventive methods.
These are proposals that are fine in principle but that may have to be changed by reality if potential tourists are put off by the procedures or concerns over privacy of information on apps.
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