UK Foreign Office issues new travel advisory for Sri Lanka, downgrades warning

Travel to Sri Lanka is no longer restricted for British traveller after the UK Foreign Office advised a change. The new advice that urged British travellers to ‘remain vigilant’ in the wake of Easter Sunday terror attack was welcomed by tour operators and hoteliers. As per the update on June 6 –terrorists are very likely to carry out attacks in Sri Lanka and travellers should ‘remain vigilant’ and avoid crowded public places, large gatherings and demonstrations. Four days after the Easter Sunday terror attacks that killed 253 people that included eight British national the FCO had issues warning against all but essential travel on April 25. According to  a Foreign Office spokesperson they had kept their travel advice for Sri Lanka under constant review since the Easter Sunday attacks and had  advised against all but essential travel. Their latest assessment of the risk to British nationals now means they  have revised their travel advice accordingly. Ahead of the busy summer months tour operators and hoteliers appreciated the change. Sam Clark, founder of Experience Travel, which specialises in south and south-east Asia mentioned that for a country in which tourism represents 11% of GDP and provides employment for 6% of the total population, this was a huge news . The UK is the second largest market for Sri Lanka by passenger numbers, but by far and away the biggest in terms of spend.