Author: uslanka

Plans underway to revive tourism industry

The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority has drafted plans for an early revival post-COVID-19, as the country starts opening up gradually from this week.
The Authority said a major step was the Cabinet approval of the critical five-year global promotion initiative last week and plans are underway to finalize the Terms of Reference and appointment of the Procurement, Project and Technical Evaluation Committees; and the process will start when the time is right.
“The approach focuses on consumer types and will allow for research supported global promotional campaigns for Sri Lanka and a traveller-focused, evidence-based promotion strategy will be developed” Sri Lanka Tourism Chairperson Kimarli Fernando stated, issuing a media release.
Sri Lanka Tourism is also currently working with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in a three-stage strategy of situation assessment, impact assessment and road mapping, to help get the tourism industry back on its feet.
According to Data, there are 11,071 registered entities and individuals in the industry. Additionally, there are 2,669 accommodation facilities with 39,253 rooms.
The industry also comprises 34 associations including regional associations. In addition to the accommodation sector, there are associations of Travel Agents (DMC’s), Tour Guides and Drivers, inputs from whom are also essential going forward.
“Tourism in Sri Lanka is an industry built on diversity and inclusivity, the input and collaboration of all tourism organisations is critical in the current situation, and would be of great benefit in planning the future.
I look to all associations to provide us with their formal proposals to help Sri Lanka Tourism to complete an inclusive long-term strategy,” she said, adding that the Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance industry grouping has already submitted a proposal.
She said despite the uncertainty of the current situation, it is necessary to address day-to-day matters, whilst maintaining the foresight to plan ahead.
COVID-19 also provides us with an opportunity for Sri Lanka Tourism to re-profile itself when the time is right. “We can realign our focus towards higher-yielding tourists and a unique Sri Lankan experience; while ensuring the safety of travellers, our employees and citizens,” she added.
According to her, the Sri Lanka Tourism’s post-COVID-19 approach takes is in two stages – Stage 1 (December Season 2020) and Stage 2 (Post-December 2020).
Stage 1 focuses on the immediate recovery of the industry, which involves changes to the visa process to include mandatory testing, adjustments to the immigration process, airport entry, hotel transfer and certification of hotels to ensure health and safety of tourists, employees and the local community.
She pointed out that designated quarantine hotels need to be established with staff safety being paramount. With advice from the Ministry of Health, a detailed guideline will be released, and establishments will be audited to ensure compliance.
Rigorous health and safety activities incur costs and as such, it is recommended that a minimum pricing structure be established for accommodation, avoiding undercutting and the resulting race to the bottom.
“In the spirit of global solidarity, we would also recommend an optional rapid test on departure at Sri Lanka Tourism cost, with results to be instantly messaged. This would provide assurance to tourists as they continue their travels elsewhere.
When the airport is fully operational, it would be an opportunity to increase flights and connectivity to Sri Lanka as an emerging transit hub in South Asia. This would be a learning experience from Singapore and Dubai’s example in building their tourism industry,” she added.
The Sri Lanka Tourism Chairperson also stressed that the Government and the Central Bank have extended their fullest support to fast track industry recovery.
“We look to the banks and financial institutions to support us and stand by our industry. We are personally contacting banks to assist our industry and currently working on how to support the industry for payment of salaries for the lower brackets and individuals with no safety net, through engagement with international funding agencies,”.
She said COVID-19 was a severe blow to the industry which was still recovering after the Easter Sunday attacks last April. She said as the pandemic unfolded, the priority was the safety of tourists in Sri Lanka and on 12 th March when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic, there were 76,224 foreign travellers in Sri Lanka.
Immediately, a 24/7 call centre was set up to assist tourists and with transportation issues in times of curfew, outbound flight tickets were allowed to be used as curfew passes to reach the airport. Another issue faced by foreign travellers was accommodation, with many hotels closing.
Alternative accommodation was found in other hotels and hostels and Sri Lanka Tourism liaised with the Foreign Ministry, embassies, airport authorities and airlines to facilitate safe departure.
We also launched “The Tourist and Expatriate Support Centre” website which provides live updates, essential information and assistance to tourists and at present, there are 12,329 tourists in Sri Lanka.

US stands with Sri Lanka in Commitment to Counter Terrorism

The United States today said that it stands with Sri Lanka in the commitment to counter terrorism.
In a statement to mark the one year anniversary of the Easter Sunday attacks, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the malicious attacks targeted churches and hotels, places where people had gone to worship and to enjoy time together on a holiday.
“We remember the more than 250 victims of these ISIS-inspired attacks, including five U.S. citizens, and extend our deepest condolences to their families and friends,” he said.
He also said that the US stands in solidarity with the survivors of the brutality, and pray for their healing.
“Just as the Government of Sri Lanka works to hold those involved to account, the United States will not rest in its pursuit of justice for those who commit such atrocities,” he said.
Pompeo said that together with their Sri Lankan friends and partners, the US reaffirms its shared commitment to countering terrorism while respecting civil liberties, to ensuring sustainable development for all, and to freedom of religion and belief that supports mutual respect.

Government assures Justice for Victims of deadly bombings

The Government today assured that it would bring before the law all the culprits who planned, financed and supported the bombings that killed over 270 people and wounded over 500 others on Easter Sunday last year.
Defence Secretary, Major General (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne said that there would not be any space for any group or individuals to spread extremism in the country.
“We will bring all those who were involved in those bomb blasts, irrespective of their social status, political affiliations, ethnicity or religion, to the book,” Gunaratne said.
He said that under the leadership of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who had pledged to give the top most priority to national security, the country’s people would be protected from terrorism and extremism.
“We will not let our people to die and suffer in such unfortunate incidents. We have taken all precautionary measures to identify such acts of terrorism or extremism at the early stages and have taken all necessary action to bring them before the law,” the Defence Secretary said.
Highlighting the importance of public support and contribution to intelligence agencies in curbing extremism, he said that on a directive of the President the intelligence agencies had been strengthened under a system that brought all intelligence agencies in the country into a one fold.
“The Government will ensure justice for the people, including the children, who died and living with deadly scares and their families by punishing the culprits and also strengthening the national security,” he said.
Gunaratne said according to an assessment done by the Presidential Secretariat and Defence Ministry, the Easter Sunday bomb blasts occurred mainly due to the failure to maintain national security

an Francisco newlyweds stuck on honeymoon in Sri Lanka

A couple from San Francisco are stuck on their honeymoon in Sri Lanka as a result of the coronavirus, NBC Bay Area reported.
San Francisco newlyweds John and are in the midst of an unforgettable honeymoon, just not the one they had been dreaming about.
Limited flight options amid the coronavirus pandemic have left them stranded in Sri Lanka, unaware of when they might be able to return home.
Their planned adventure to Thailand and Sri Lanka, complete with world-class surf beaches and a safari, has now become an unusual and prolonged endurance test for the newly married couple.
“We’re actually calling it a ‘supermoon now,” jokes Michelle, who was supposed to fly back home to San Francisco with her husband three weeks ago. “It’s definitely been a rollercoaster.”
John and Michelle were already well into their honeymoon by the time San Francisco and five other Bay Area counties enacted their stay-at-home orders in an effort to halt the spread of COVID-19. The couple got married in Southern California on March 6. Two days later, they traveled to Thailand for the first stretch of their vacation. They then flew to Sri Lanka on March 16. It wasn’t until the next day when six Bay Area counties enacted those stay-at-home orders.
Two days after landing in Sri Lanka, John and Michelle learned their plane tickets home to San Francisco had been cancelled.
The Sri Lankan government has since began imposing irregular curfews that can last for days. People are only allowed to leave their homes for a few hours at a time, leading to incredibly long lines at area shops. Simply buying groceries can now be a full-day ordeal.
“There have been a lot of times where John has had to hold me and say, ‘hey, we’re gonna be okay.’ And I don’t totally believe him, but I kind of have to because I have no other choice,” said Michelle. “I only have one person in this entire country that I can really lean on,” she said, looking at her new husband
A couple from San Francisco are stuck on their honeymoon in Sri Lanka as a result of the coronavirus, NBC Bay Area reported.
San Francisco newlyweds John and are in the midst of an unforgettable honeymoon, just not the one they had been dreaming about.
Limited flight options amid the coronavirus pandemic have left them stranded in Sri Lanka, unaware of when they might be able to return home.
Their planned adventure to Thailand and Sri Lanka, complete with world-class surf beaches and a safari, has now become an unusual and prolonged endurance test for the newly married couple.
“We’re actually calling it a ‘supermoon now,” jokes Michelle, who was supposed to fly back home to San Francisco with her husband three weeks ago. “It’s definitely been a rollercoaster.”
John and Michelle were already well into their honeymoon by the time San Francisco and five other Bay Area counties enacted their stay-at-home orders in an effort to halt the spread of COVID-19. The couple got married in Southern California on March 6. Two days later, they traveled to Thailand for the first stretch of their vacation. They then flew to Sri Lanka on March 16. It wasn’t until the next day when six Bay Area counties enacted those stay-at-home orders.
Two days after landing in Sri Lanka, John and Michelle learned their plane tickets home to San Francisco had been cancelled.
The Sri Lankan government has since began imposing irregular curfews that can last for days. People are only allowed to leave their homes for a few hours at a time, leading to incredibly long lines at area shops. Simply buying groceries can now be a full-day ordeal.
“There have been a lot of times where John has had to hold me and say, ‘hey, we’re gonna be okay.’ And I don’t totally believe him, but I kind of have to because I have no other choice,” said Michelle. “I only have one person in this entire country that I can really lean on,” she said, looking at her new husband

Pillow Challenge

නව කොරෝනා වෛරසය නිසා මිනිස්සුන්ට නිවෙස් තුළට වී සිටීමට බොහෝ රජයන් මේ වන විට නිවේදනය කර තියෙනවා. මේකත් එක්ක මේ දවස් වල බොහෝ දේවල් කරළියට එකතු වෙනවා. මේ අතර සිංහල හින්දු අවුරුද්දේ අවුරුදු කුමරිය තේරීමත් ක්‍රමයට සිදු වෙන හැටි දැක ගන්න ලැබුණා. විවිධ සංගීත වැඩසටහන්, කෑම පිසීම්, නර්තන අංග විවිධ ක්‍රීඩා මෙලෙස වෙනස් වෙනස් හැඩ තල වලින් සමාජ මාධ්‍ය ඔස්සේ පත්වූ අයුරු හරි අපුරුයි. ඒවගේම සමාජ මාධ්‍ය ඔස්සේ විවිධ අභියෝග එල්ල වනවා.
ඒ අතර ලෝකයේ සිදුවූ අපුරු විලාසිත දැක්මක අභියෝගයක් ඇස ගැටෙනවා. මේක Pillow Challenge නමින් තමයි ප්‍රසිද්ධ වන්නේ.
නිවෙස්වලට වී සිටින ජනතාවගේ අලස බව අඩු කිරීමේ අරමුණින් මෙවන් අමුතු අභියෝග බොහෝමයක් හුවමාරු වන බව මේවාන් විනෝදාස්වාදය වගේම මානසික ආතතිය නැති කරන්නත් හොද දේවල්. Pillow Challenge නමින් හඳුන්වා තිබෙන මෙයත් විනෝදජනක අභියෝගයක්. ඕනෑම අයෙකුට සම්බන්ධ විය හැකි මෙම අභියෝගයට සහභාගී විය යුත්තේ කොට්ටයක් භාවිතා කරමින්..
ජර්මනියේ රූපලාවන්‍ය හා විලාසිතා බ්ලොග් කරුවෙකු වන කට්ජා ද නිරෝධායනයට ලක් වීමෙන් පසුව මෙම අභියෝගයට මුලින් එකතු වුණා. ඇය රටා සහිත කොට්ටයක් ඇඳ ගෙන ඉණ වටා පටියක් බැඳගෙන මෙම අභියෝගයට මුහුණ දී සිටින අයුරු දැක්වෙන ඡායාරූප මේ වන විටත් බොහෝ දෙනා අතර හුවමාරු වෙමින් තිබෙනවා. බොහෝ දෙනා එම විලාසිතාව ගැන අදහස් පළ කිරීම හා හුවමාරු කිරීම නිසා මෙය බෙහෙවින්ම ව්‍යාප්ත වෙලා..
ප්‍රකට විලාසිතා ශිල්පිනියක වන ඉතාලියේ රමෝනාද නිරෝධායනයේ යෙදී සිටියදී මිතුරෙකු විසින් අභියෝගයට ලක් කළ පසුව සරල සුදු කොට්ටයක් උපයෝගී කරගනිමින් මෙම අභියෝගයට සහභාගි වෙලා. ඇය කළු බඳ පටියක් සහ උස සපත්තු යුවලක් මගින් දැඩි ආකර්ෂණයක් අත්කර ගෙන තිබුණා
මේ වනවිට ට්සවිටර්මා ෆේස්ජ බුක් හා ඉන්ස්ටර්ග්‍රෑම් මාධ්‍ය තුළ Pillow Challenge නමින් මෙය ප්‍රකට වී තිබෙන අතර වැඩි වශයෙන් කාන්තාවන් ඊට දායකවී ඇති අයුරු හඳුනාගන්නට ලැබේ. මේ කාලය සැබවින්ම සියල්ල අභියෝගයකට ලක් කරමින් අලුත් මාවත් පෙන්නුවා කිවුවොත් නිවැරදියි
AshWaru
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European Union provides EUR 22 million grant to Sri Lanka

The European Union (EU) has provided a EUR 22 million grant to Sri Lanka to tackle the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
The European Union and its Member States are working with partners around the world to combat the coronavirus pandemic and mitigate the effects of the crisis.
The EU’s response follows a ‘Team Europe’ approach, aimed at saving lives by providing quick and targeted support. This includes improving the preparedness for and response to the outbreak, and funding research to support the development of coronavirus vaccines and medication to help those affected.
Issuing a press release, the EU said Sri Lanka’s very low number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 so far is impressive. To support Sri Lankan efforts further, the European Union is targeting three sectors: health, agriculture and tourism.
For health, the EU will be providing EUR 2 million for equipment and medical supplies to be procured by the World Health Organisation and to strengthen laboratory networks in the country. Sri Lanka’s agricultural sector will benefit from EUR 16.5 million funding. In these trying times, maintaining open trade and safeguarding the supply chains, especially agricultural and health supply chains, is essential to the well-being of the population. This funding will take into account the impact of Covid-19 by mobilising more private capital in rural areas and by assisting small businesses and workers in the Uva and Central Provinces, it said.
Finally, the European Union will support the Sri Lankan tourism industry with a EUR 3.5 million grant, in particular the smaller operators and their employees.
Some of the assistance will be provided immediately and the rest will be delivered later in the year and will continue thereafter, the press release read.
The EU went on to say the decisions were discussed during a meeting between the EU Delegation, the Ambassadors of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania and Task Force Chair Basil Rajapaksa on 08 April 2020, during which they also commended the Government of Sri Lanka for the close cooperation in ensuring the safety and wellbeing of its citizens and European tourists.
The Ambassadors of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania and the EU Delegation said “We are impressed with the low number of cases in Sri Lanka so far. The European Union and its Member States are looking at the best way to support these efforts, and have mobilised EUR 15.6 billion overall to tackle the consequences of COVID-19, and to improve preparedness further. It is only together that we can fight the spread of coronavirus and alleviate its human and economic consequences around the world.”

Muslim organisations in Sri Lanka concerned over ‘hate mongering’

A group of Muslim organisations in Sri Lanka have sought immediate investigation and urgent action on “the continued hate-mongering against the Muslim community”, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Hindu newspaper reported.
In a letter addressed to the acting Inspector General of Police, the organisations cited social media posts and audio recordings in circulation that, they said, violated laws on hate speech.
“It is also important to investigate whether any organised group is supporting, aiding and abetting the spread of racial and religious hatred to destabilise the country at a time when the government’s fullest attention is on controlling and eliminating the deadly COVID-19 here in Sri Lanka,” said the letter dated April 12, and signed by organisations, including the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka and the Colombo District Mosques’ Federation.
The letter refers to appeals made by anonymous persons in the audio clips, urging the public to refrain from making purchases from Muslim-run businesses, while accusing the community of trying to spread the coronavirus. The “racist appeals”, the organisations said, were similar to those circulated ahead of earlier instances of violence targeting the community in 2018 in the central Digana town, and soon after the Easter terror attacks last April.
Muslims have already raised concern over Sri Lanka making cremation compulsory for COVID-19 victims, as it goes against their beliefs.