Beware the tourism dollar

Friday, 10 September 2021 00:19 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Earlier this week it came to light that the Sri Lanka Tourism Chairperson Kimarli Fernando had sent out a letter to Health Services Director General Dr. Asela Gunawardena requesting that health protocols be relaxed for Russian travellers. Fernando’s reasoning came from the fact that Russia boasts a source market of 144 million people, 25% of whom have been fully vaccinated.

Fernando, who is currently part of a Sri Lanka Tourism promotional delegation in Moscow, is understood to have made four requests in her letter: 1) Remove wearing of PPE requirement for flight crew who are fully vaccinated, 2) Remove the requirement of PCR testing 72 hours before boarding the flight for those who are fully vaccinated, 3) Remove PCR testing for children 12 years and below in line with EU regulations, 4) Allow on arrival rapid tests for fully vaccinated passengers on the tourist route, and for it to be conducted at the airport.

Understandably, the revelation of these requests has caused quite the furore among the public. Indeed, while the request for on-arrival rapid tests for fully-vaccinated passengers is somewhat reasonable, the other three demands definitely raise a few eyebrows. In terms of the removal of PCR testing for children below 12 years of age, Fernando cites EU regulations. However, the one thing we do know about the coronavirus is that it is constantly evolving; after all, it wasn’t even a year ago that we felt children weren’t at risk at all, but now there is growing evidence to suggest that children are just as much at risk as adults. So while they still cannot be vaccinated, it seems reasonable to err on the side of caution in terms of PCR testing.

The other two points meanwhile are even more difficult to comprehend. Current research shows that being fully vaccinated does not prevent someone from contracting the virus, nor does it prevent them from spreading the virus. The benefit provided by being fully vaccinated is that it makes the likelihood of contraction less, and if one does contract the virus one is more likely to be asymptomatic or only have mild symptoms. Even in countries such as the US, where initially fully-vaccinated individuals were allowed to mingle in large crowds without masks, those measures are gradually being rolled back with mask usage now being required among even vaccinated individuals.

That Sri Lanka Tourism’s request comes amid a ‘hybrid lockdown’ in the country, where fully vaccinated Sri Lankans are still not allowed to travel freely as it is deemed too high a risk, is even more farcical. In her letter to Dr. Gunawardena, Fernando also said that if the four requests weren’t granted Sri Lanka would not be able to get the desired results for tourism. While it is understandable that Fernando and Sri Lanka Tourism want to bring more tourists and crucial foreign exchange into country, it is extremely important they refrain from putting the proverbial cart before the horse.

Not only do requests such as these come across as extremely tone deaf, they also feed into the idea that those appointed to govern the country are growing ever more detached from the ground realities of everyday Sri Lankans. Tourists will come when the situation in the country improves; putting more lives at risk for the sake of tourism dollars makes little sense.