The new power cuts risk the revival of tourism on Sri Lanka’s southwestern beaches during its peak winter season, just as visitors have begun to return to the island since the Covid-19 pandemic broke.
A hit to the sector, which contributed to about 5% of the economy before Covid-19, may also mar plans to bolster the nation’s finances amid payments for costlier imports and dollar debt obligations, which have led to concerns of a sovereign default.
However the government will be taking every possible step to maintain uninterrupted power supply to tourism zones to avoid any inconvenience for tourists visiting the country.
Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka have exceeded 155,000 so far, led by Russians, despite the challenges emanating from the global Covid-19 pandemic, Tourism Ministry data showed.
As per provisional data released by the Tourism Ministry, Sri Lanka has received 155,375 travellers as of 21 February.
During the first 22 days of February, a total of 73,048 tourists visited Sri Lanka, with an average of over 3,000 tourists per day.
Amidst a surge in its COVID cases, Russia continues to dominate among the top tourist source market for Sri Lanka with 24,889 followed by India with 20,561, UK 15,846, Ukrainian 12,501 and Germany 11,127.
In addition, tourists were also received from countries such as France, Poland, Kazakhstan, Australia and Maldives as of 21 February.
Given the sharp rebound in tourist arrivals this month, Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga last week renewed monthly expectations to 200,000 travellers
