Sri Lanka will be removed from the travel Red Lists of countries as the country’s vaccination programme is proceeding successfully, Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said.
He said diplomatic level discussions have already commenced in this regard with several countries. Accordingly, state leaderships, health and tourism authorities in several countries are being informed regarding this at the moment.
The Minister made these remarks when he met officials at the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Board to discuss the progress of the campaign on bringing more tourists to the country.
Nine countries including the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Canada, Spain, Singapore, UAE and China have imposed entry bans for Sri Lankans over the spread of the virus. However, the UK and Japan have removed Sri Lanka from the Red List recently.
The Minister stressed the importance of updating health guidelines imposed on the tourism industry to revive the industry while protecting the people from the pandemic. He said that around 40,000 tourists have arrived in the country since last January and only 270 tourists have tested positive for COVID-19.
