• Tourism rescue plan to kick start with Russia 
• Four weekly flights from September 

BY Pamodi Waravita 

Businessman and former Sri Lankan Ambassador to the Ukraine Udayanga Weeratunga yesterday (27) said in a special press discussion that approximately 1,000 Russian tourists are expected in Sri Lanka from September this year, as a measure to revitalise the severely affected tourism industry. 

“A SriLankan Airlines flight will go on 30 July to Moscow, Russia, and will return to the country on 1 August with tourists. We hope to operate a flight every Saturday from Moscow to Sri Lanka, and from September onwards, operate another flight every week on Tuesday from Moscow to Sri Lanka. Two more flights will operate from September. So in September, four flights will operate to Sri Lanka every week from Russia,” noted Weeratunga. 

Weeratunga added that if 250 tourists are expected from each flight, then about 1,000 Russian tourists can be expected weekly into the country from September, which is a good start to revive the tourism industry. 

“In the past, 90% of passengers from Russia were tourists. There are about three million people from Sri Lanka who are currently involved in the tourism industry. The industry brought about $ 4.4 billion into the country. It has fallen to the ground now. People invested heavily in the industry post-2009. We cannot tell people in the industry to go down another path, which is why we have to start somewhere, whilst keeping to the health guidelines.” 

Russia is currently nearing the end of its third wave of Covid-19 infections, with 23,032 cases on Monday (26), the lowest daily number since June 30, Russia’s anti-coronavirus crisis centre said yesterday (27). The total number of cases stands at over 6.1 million. 

Last week, the Government decided to extend the debt relief period by another six months for the people in the tourism sector who have been hit hard by the pandemic. Tourists have been allowed in the country under a biological bubble concept, where travellers must book a ‘Level 1 Safe and Secure Hotel’, obtain a Covid-19 insurance and undergo an on arrival polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test and show a negative test result. Fully vaccinated (both doses) travellers have to stay in a Level 1 Hotel until their first PCR test result comes back as negative, after which they could move to a Level 2 Hotel. 

According to the medical experts, the country is currently on the brink of the fourth wave of the pandemic. A total of 1,665 new cases and 48 deaths as a result of the Covid-19 virus were reported on 26 July.

Source: https://www.themorning.lk/udayanga-promises-1000-russian-tourists-monthly/