On travel advisories and terror threats

The recent travel advisory by the US Government followed quickly by several other countries including the United Kingdom and Australia has shocked many Sri Lankans and raised concerns by those in the travel industry. The US revised the travel advisory for its citizens citing intelligence reports of potential terrorist threats in the popular tourist resort of Arugam Bay in the Eastern Province. This was followed by the police announcing they were aware of the threats and that action has been taken to give adequate security to the tourist hotspots and particular to nationals of Israel who are the likely targets of such attacks. Three arrests followed quickly but no details are available on who they are.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake addressed the issue during one of his election campaign stops saying the Government is acting on intelligence reports and that unlike previous Governments they will not hold press conferences to announce what they were doing. The Government also assured that the tourists are safe in Sri Lanka and should not stop visiting.

There are obviously questions that arise from the Government statements. If the Government had intelligence reports on a pending terrorist attacks on foreign tourists in the country, why did it wait till the US Government issued a travel advisor which has done immense damage to the country’s tourism industry? If the Government thinks it should keep such reports secret from the public shouldn’t it have shared such information with the foreign embassies in Colombo so that they could warn their citizens? Also shouldn’t those in the tourism trade also have been warned about such threats so that they could take the necessary precautions to strengthen security in their establishments? 

Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance Chair Malik J. Fernando in a moment issued after the travel advisory questioned if the move was “some kind of cruel joke being played on Sri Lanka and its vital tourism industry, crucial to economic recovery, by a group of foreign embassies?” The statement sounds naïve given that foreign missions act on their own intelligence reports and in the best interest of their citizens and not on the advice of the Sri Lanka Government or its tourist sector. Given the tragic incidents of the Easter Sunday terror attacks which resulted in the deaths of a number of foreign nationals, no country will want to take a chance were the life of their citizens are our at risk. Sri Lanka often issues travel advisories for its citizens too as do all other countries if they see a risk of travel.

The tourism industry is vital to Sri Lanka and the upcoming months in particularly are crucial and it is hoped that the Government assurances will prompt the countries concerned to list the restrictions on travel to Sri Lanka.

Added to this problems is the question of an increasing number of foreign tourists overstaying in the country and violating the terms of their visas. Sri Lankans who travel to western countries in particular are bound down by many restrictions especially regarding employment .This is stamped on the visa itself with clear warning that any gainful employment would results in the cancellation of the visa and deportation.

For years governments have turned their back by ignoring this problem, afraid to dispose of powerful foreign countries whose nationals have made Sri Lanka a playground for illegal activities. The new Government has been put on the spot with the recent developments and is likely to maintain the status quo given that the country’s economy is still in fragile state and any reduction in tourism sector revenue could cost the country heavily. 

The immediate requirement is to ensure that the country is safe for tourists following which the government must act to deport over stayers and crackdown on illegal activities by foreigners, whatever nationality they may belong to.