Courtesy The National News.com Travellers visiting the Indian Ocean country must have a negative PCR test result, take another test upon arrival and stay in a government-approved hotel Sri Lanka has reopened to tourists for the first time in almost a year. The island nation, which is a favourite with holidaymakers from the UAE, closed […]

By Feizal Samath Courtesy ttgasia Sri Lanka has welcomed its first batch of visitors from Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland, after reopening its borders to foreign tourists last Thursday, following a 10-month pandemic-induced closure. The lifting of the ban on all commercial travellers, bar those from the UK which is currently under lockdown amid a virus […]

Courtesy Mailonline Sri Lanka is famous for its picturesque beaches, but the country’s tourism industry has been devastated by the pandemic Sri Lanka will reopen its borders to foreign tourists this week after a 10-month hiatus, officials said Monday, with travellers subject to tough Covid-19 protocols. The announcement came despite a surge in Covid-19 cases […]

By Feizal Samath Courtesy ttgasia Sri Lanka will once again welcome tourists on January 21, this time under a bio bubble, following a successful pilot programme to assess the country’s capability in managing tourists under a bio bubble amid the pandemic. A daily limit of 2,500 inbound tourists has been set. While tourists do not need to undergo mandatory […]

Courtesy Travelradar Today, the Sri Lankan government announced that it will open its international airports once again.  Flight operations will start from the 23rd of January of 2021.  Foreign travellers visiting the country can now visit 12 of the country’s major tourist attractions once again; The moves comes following months of Coronavirus travel restrictions in […]

Courtesy The Daily Mirror All those who dealt with the Ukrainian tourists including Udayanga Weeratunga and safari drivers have been included in the bio bubble in order to be separated from the society, Minister of Tourism and Aviation Prasanna Ranatunga told Parliament today. He said that the measure had been taken to prevent them from […]

Courtesy Adaderana Sri Lanka is reopening its airspace for commercial flights as the island nation looks to once again kick start the tourism industry which was on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic. Accordingly a commercial flight carrying 185 passengers from Ukraine is expected to reach the Mattala Airport at around 1.30 p.m. today, marking […]

Courtesy Travelmole Jet2 and TUI have cancelled a further raft of holidays as countries across Europe and the world close their borders to British holidaymakers. Sri Lanka became the latest country to announce a ban on UK flights this morning due to fears of a new strain of coronavirus spreading across Britain. TUI has extended […]

Courtesy Hiru News Director of Operations of the Airport and Aviation Services of Sri Lanka, Shehan Sumanasekara stated that the national carrier of Maldives will commence scheduled flights to Sri Lanka from today (23). Accordingly, scheduled flights operated by Air Maldives will fly into Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA). According to Sumanasekara, the project is part […]

T.K.G. Kapila Courtesy The Daily Mirror A Russian tour group has been granted permission to visit Sri Lanka and will be the first batch of tourists to enter country after the reopening of the airport on December 26, Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CASL) Chairman Upul Dharmadasa said. He said this Russian tour group […]

Courtesy 112 Ukraine Flights will be operated from December 28, 2020 to March 10, 2021 Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) launches charter flights from Kyiv to Sri Lanka. This was reported on the airline’s website. Flights will be operated from December 28, 2020 to March 10, 2021. The planes will fly from Boryspil airport to Mattala airport.Related: Ryanair opens ticket sale […]

Courtesy Adaderana Sri Lanka will be resuming operation of commercial and charter flights from the 26th of December this year, says the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAASL). The CAASL has informed the civil aviation authorities around the world of the proposed resumption of flight operations to Sri Lanka. As the aviation regulator of […]

Simon GarnerMonday Sun, sand, sensational scenery – sounds like the perfect antidote to 2020, right? Which is why we’re offering one lucky reader the chance to win a holiday to Sri Lanka for two, where they’ll stay in three boutique hotels with full-board. The first port of call is a homestay at the cosy Villa […]

Courtesy Adaderana Victoria’s hotel quarantine program has restarted, with Melbourne Airport welcoming its first international flights in more than five months. SriLankan Airlines flight UL604 from Colombo landed just before 8am on Monday, the first of eight international passenger flights carrying 253 travellers due to touch down today. Victoria has not accepted international flights since […]

Yuthika Bhargava Courtesy The Hindu Consolidation is inevitable, says Booking.com’s Mehrotra Even though some demand has started coming back, the travel industry may take years to get back to pre-pandemic business level, said Ritu Mehrotra, country manager — India, Sri Lanka, Maldives at Booking.com. Travel industry was one of the first industries to be hit […]

Courtesy yahoo News Sri Lanka and Israel are among several countries that have been added to the UK’s list of travel corridors. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced that Namibia, Rwanda and Uruguay are also now on the list. It marks the first time any African countries have been added to the travel corridors list. No destinations have been removed this week. People arriving in […]

Courtesy Lifesyle The airline will fly direct from Muscat to Colombo, Muharraq and Kuwait twice per week throughout winter Oman Air is resuming flights to three more destinations as part of its winter network update. The national airline of the sultanate will begin flying to Sri Lanka, Bahrain and Kuwait from Monday, October 25. The […]

Courtesy  SPEAR’S Sri Lanka has recovered before, from colonial rule and civil war. As the country’s vital tourism industry prepares to leap back into life, Andrew Harris recalls his pre-lockdown adventure in the land of serendipity  Oblivious to the pandemic that was on the way, I had only a darting mongoose, a parading peacock and […]

by Stephanie Takyi London courtesy https://www.standard.co.uk/ Planning a long haul escape for when things (finally) open up again? Stephanie Takyi gets lost in the lush landscapes of this unique South Asian island  Sri Lanka has long been a destination for travellers seeking escapism. This small beautiful island, situated south of India, is larger than life with idyllic beaches, sprawling […]

Great Big Story Who better to see the world with than your best friend? Especially when your best friend is a dog. Tom Turcich of New Jersey and his adorable pooch Savannah have walked over 18,000 miles through the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile, Italy, Turkey and dozens of other countries over the past […]

Lonely Planet’s  With untouched golden beaches to discover, atmospheric train rides through tea-carpeted hills, and ancient temples to admire, Sri Lanka is Lonely Planet’s top country to travel to in 2019. Here are 12 more reasons to visit. https://www.lonelyplanet.com/video/12-things-you-cant-miss-in-sri-lanka/v/vid/971?tag=beaches https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=111537044496&display=popup&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lonelyplanet.com%2Fvideo%2F12-things-you-cant-miss-in-sri-lanka%2Fv%2Fvid%2F971

Courtesy NewsIn.Asia Colombo, Aug.10 (newsin.asia) — Recognizing the safety protocols introduced by the Government of Sri Lanka along with standards mandated by Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) to ensure the safety of domestic and international travelers, destination Sri Lanka was recently endowed with the World Travel and Tourism Council’s (WTTC) Safe Travels stamp. Whilst […]

Courtesy The Daily Mirror The Russian authorities have made up a list of 13 countries including Sri Lanka that Russia can resume flights to at the first stage of the resumption of international flights. The list of countries that meet epidemiological safety requirements include the UK, Hungary, Germany, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Finland, […]

Courtesy Gulf Times Sri Lanka’s Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) is planning to launch a long-awaited multi-million-dollar global tourism promotion campaign in January 2021 if tourism does not bounce back to the pre-Covid level in two years, local media reported.Currently, the final terms of references (TOR) of the five-year campaign are being reviewed by an appointed […]

ABU DHABI, Courtesy Trade Arabia Effective June 20, Etihad Airways will operate twice-weekly scheduled services for outbound passengers from Colombo to key destinations on its global network via Abu Dhabi. EY265 will depart Colombo on Thursdays and Saturdays at 1.35am, landing in Abu Dhabi at 4.30am local time. From Abu Dhabi, the service connects to […]

By Feizal Samath Courtesy TTG Asia Sri Lanka’s decision to impose stringent Covid-19 testing protocols when it reopens its doors to foreign tourists on August 1 has divided local tourism industry stakeholders. Some industry players, who declined to be named, are up in arms over the stringent Covid-19 testing protocols. The chairman of a local hotel […]

Courtesy thenational.ae Travellers will have coronavirus tests at the airport and must stay in the country for at least five nights Sri Lanka will reopen to travellers from Saturday, August 1. The country had closed its borders in a bid to prevent the spread of Covid-19, but will reopen to all nationalities and all types […]