With Sri Lanka going through an ongoing foreign exchange criss, governments of the United Kingdom, and Canada have warned their travellers about the economic situation. The UK government has warned its travellers that Sri Lanka is reeling under a crisis with shortages of medicines, food, and fuel, as there is now a shortage of hard currency for imports.
The country declared that it’s in crisis back in August, 2021. With the 2019 Easter Bombings, and then the covid pandemic, tourism has already been hit in a bad way in the country. Now the foreign exchange crisis might further affect travel.
The United Kingdom, along with Russia and India are the three biggest sources of inbound tourism for Sri Lanka. Tourism accounts for 5 per cent of the country’s GDP. There has been a decline in international tourist arrivals in Sri Lanaka in March 2020, by about 70.8 percent when comared to the same time frame a year ago.
The government in Canada has also asked its citizens to have food, water, and fuel supplies in hand in case of a disruption. The government has also asked its travellers to have enough supply of medicines at hand.
The Sri Lankan public has in fact faced a shortage of essentials due to the forex crisis, as its import restrictions have led to a shortage in cooking gas, and fuel supplies. This has also led to power cuts in the country.
