Tourism collapse deepens Sri Lankan economic crisis, hospitality bears brunt

Colombo: Tourism industry in Sri Lanka is severely affected as the country is gripped by a severe economic crisis. Hotels are empty, and beaches are deserted in Colombo. Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since independence with food and fuel shortages, soaring prices and power cuts affecting a large number of the citizens, […]

Colombo: Tourism industry in Sri Lanka is severely affected as the country is gripped by a severe economic crisis.

Hotels are empty, and beaches are deserted in Colombo. Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since independence with food and fuel shortages, soaring prices and power cuts affecting a large number of the citizens, resulting in massive protests over the government’s handling of the situation.

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Speaking to ANI, a tourist guide said that no tourists are coming to the island nation for the last two months.

“For the last two months, there are no tourists due to current instability and high prices,” Manoj, a tourist guide at Negambi beach in Colombo, said.

While a bar manager in a hotel expressed hope for the new Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s vow of resolving the ongoing economic crisis. “Everything is high here in Sri Lanka. Let’s see, how it will go under Ranil Wickremesinghe’s rule in the country. He deals with the situation. Restaurants and bars are closed. There are no tourists here in the country,” he said.

On Thursday Ranil Wickremesinghe, the leader of the United National Party (UNP) of Sri Lanka was sworn in as the country’s Prime Minister for a record sixth term to restore stability in the island nation in the midst of a political impasse and unprecedented economic crisis.

Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since independence with food and fuel shortages, soaring prices and power cuts affecting a large number of the citizens.

At the same time, the country continues to negotiate with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to bail out its struggling economy. It is to be seen, how Wickremesinghe assuages the anti-government protestors in the near term, with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the central figure whose ouster is being sought by the protestors, still in place.

 

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