Missing the sun, sand, and the beaches? Now you won’t have to wait much longer, as Sri Lanka has just announced that it will reopen its borders for travellers from August. By Amitha Ameen
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In a positive turn of events, Sri Lanka has announced that it will reopen its borders for tourists sometime in August, with certain guidelines in place. Earlier set to reopen on August 1, the date has been pushed back due to the rising number of cases in the country, with no revised date as yet. Officials said that the tourism industry will reopen to foreign guests while following the necessary guidelines.
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Passengers wishing to travel to the island nation will need to present a COVID-19 free certificate on arrival, issued within 72 hours of boarding the plane, and will have to stay for a minimum of five days in the country. Additionally, they will also have to undertake a virus test at the airport upon arrival. Further checks will be conducted depending on how long travellers will be staying in the country.
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So although tourists can skip quarantine unless symptoms are detected, they will need to adhere to these rigorous but necessary PCR testings that will be carried out by the authorities.
The normal visa fee of 40 USD (INR 3024.10) will be increased to 100 USD (INR 7560.25) and visitors will only be allowed to stay at ministry pre-approved hotels and will not be allowed to use public transport within the country.
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Sri Lanka’s tourism industry had taken a severe hit last year, and the sudden outbreak of the pandemic only increased tourism woes and resulted in many job losses. The country’s visitors too had dropped from 2.33 to 1.91 million from the previous year.
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