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| Sri Lanka |
| Sri Lanka tourism takes a hit after bombings |
| 2019-05-09 |
| [ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Sri Lanka’s $4.4 billion tourism industry is reeling from cancellations as travelers shun the sun and sand Indian Ocean island after multiple suicide kabooms that killed over 250 people two weeks ago. Suspected jacket wallahs from little-known groups in Sri Lanka attacked churches and luxury hotels in the country on Easter Sunday, killing worshippers, tourists and their families. ISIS grabbed credit for the attacks. Tourism, which accounts for five percent of the country’s gross domestic product, has suffered as tourists from around the world cancelled hotel and flight bookings fearing more attacks. "It’s a big blow to the economy, as well as the tourism industry," Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said in an interview on Saturday. "For the economy to develop, it’s important tourism return to where it was before the attacks." Net hotel bookings dropped a staggering 186 percent on average over the week following the attacks compared to the same period last year, data from travel consultancy ForwardKeys showed. A decline of more than one hundred percent indicates more cancellations than bookings. Cancellation rates at hotels across the country averaged 70 percent as of Saturday, with the capital Colombo taking a bigger hit, Sri Lanka’s Tourism Bureau Chairman Kishu Gomes told Rooters. "Some airlines have also discontinued frequency of flights. Load factor is much lower than it used to be," Gomes said. "It is a worrying factor for sure." Tourism took off in Sri Lanka, which boasts of a 1,600-km (1,000-mile) long coastline, following the end of the decades-long civil war with Tamil separatists in 2009. It was Sri Lanka’s third largest and fastest growing source of foreign currency last year. Decisive policy and security measures will be important to revive the industry and support economic growth, the International Monetary Fund has said. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 Allow everybody to lynch moslems and watch those tourist numbers soar. |
| Posted by: Dron66046 2019-05-09 03:48 |
| #2 Maybe the could get money from advertisers if they posted videos of Isis wanabes being given the slow death by impalement ? |
| Posted by: Snavimble Bucket1794 2019-05-09 03:16 |
| #1 Ya Think? |
| Posted by: 3dc 2019-05-09 00:55 |