SLAITO to lobby for fresh credit line for tour operators; opens help hotline for members

The Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) is to lobby for a fresh credit line to help its members tide over the prolonged impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“We are lobbying with authorities to obtain a credit line for the industry members with a two-year grace period and an eight-year repayment period,” SLAITO said. 

The apex body for inbound tourism, consisting of 90% from the SEM sector, has also launched a unique help line to reach out to its members including its ‘One Industry One Voice’ partners. 

The aim of the help line is to provide whatever assistance possible to its members in these challenging times and to keep their businesses afloat.   Sri Lanka re-opened its borders to passenger flights from 1 June after closing it for 10 days as part of overall measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the country. 

However, the Civil Aviation Authority said only 75 passengers per flight are allowed, including tourists.

Four international airlines – Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Gulf Air and Turkish Airlines – will commence flights today, while national carrier SriLankan Airlines will have 12 scheduled flights for the day. Thereafter, CAA believes the airlines that were in operation post-COVID will resume gradually.

After a near 10-month closure, Sri Lanka on 21 January re-opened borders to resume inbound international travel to the country. Since then, over 13,000 tourists have arrived while complying with health and safety guidelines.