The Sri Lanka government on November 29 declared state of emergency as cyclone Ditwah swept through the country, and appealed to foreign leaders and Sri Lankans living abroad for financial aid.
While the rain has started to ease today, cyclone Ditwah has left behind a trail of destruction to public infrastructure and homes.
Local news reported many FITs being stranded and helped to safer locations by rescue services operated by armed forces, police and emergency rescue teams.
Severe disruption in mobile communications in many areas also hampered rescue efforts.
An executive of a travel company told TTG Asia on Saturday that he struggled to contact a group of tourists organised by his company.
The natural disaster has left many incoming tourists anxious for updates. They are relying on social media for information to help them decide if their trip should be postponed.
“We got several cancellations and postponed travel plans,” said the general manager of a hotel in the flooded hill town of Kandy.
Nishad Wijetunga, managing director at Wayfarers and former president of the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Operators, said DMCs did not suffer any cancellations but had to deal with itinerary rescheduling as national parks and many other tourist sites were closed.
Wijetunga said one of his groups would arrive as planned today.
Tourism industry players are critical of the management of the crisis by state-owned Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), which issued a statement on Friday declaring that it was safe to travel to Sri Lanka. It failed to explain the extent of the crisis and disruption.
“They (SLTDA) said everything was fine when it was not, with parks and tourist sites closed,” said an angry executive of a local travel agency.
SLTDA followed up on November 30 with information on teams operating round the clock to assist tourists and industry stakeholders affected by cyclone Ditwah. It also urged tourists to remain vigilant regarding weather updates and strictly follow government guidelines.
SriLankan Airlines has cancelled several flights since Nov 28 while some arriving flights are rerouted to nearby South Indian airports. Affected tourists are allowed free visa extensions, full waivers on flight cancellation and date-change fees, and flexible rebooking at hotels.
Sri Lanka is targeting 2.3 million to 2.5 million tourists this year, but may fall short due to disrupted travel in December.
