SRI Lanka’s travel trade is bristling at the travel advisories issued by the UK and Australia, saying these would hamper the country’s efforts to grow tourism.
The UK released a travel advisory yesterday after a female tourist was arrested and ordered to be deported for sporting an allegedly offensive Buddha tattoo. “The mistreatment of Buddhist images and artefacts is a serious offence and tourists have been convicted for this. British nationals have been refused entry to Sri Lanka or faced deportation for having visible tattoos of Buddha,” warned the advisory.
It also said there have been reports of drinks being spiked with drugs in bars and restaurants in southern beach resorts.
Australia’s travel advisory released earlier on April 9 urged visitors to “… exercise a high degree of caution in Sri Lanka at this time because of the unpredictable security environment”, and advised its citizens to avoid political rallies in Sri Lanka that could turn violent.
Local travel consultants TTG Asia e-Daily spoke to reported no overseas queries or cancellations as a result of the travel warning, but were nevertheless concerned.
Vasantha Leenananda, head of the DMC segment at John Keells Holdings, said: “Anything negative about a country (promoting tourism) puts that country in a vulnerable position. In that context these advisories don’t help (the industry).”
The UK is Sri Lanka’s second largest source market while Australia is its seventh, though mainly for visiting friends and relatives.
