Sri Lankan authorities have announced special fuel arrangements for tour operators and hotels as tourist numbers plummet amid the Middle East conflict.
Sri Lanka’s government said that it is limiting fuel purchases as supplies are being affected globally by the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran.
However, the country’s authorities have revealed that “special arrangements” will be implemented for tour operators and hotels to “minimise disruption to tourism,” the UK’s Foreign Office reports.
Meanwhile, those who live in Sri Lanka will be allocated a weekly fuel quota, and a four-day working week will be implemented for all state institutions, along with schools and universities.
To try to cut fuel, Wednesdays will now be given as a holiday for these institutions, while civil servants have been asked to work from home.
For the tourist industry, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) is offering a tourism fuel quota, which can be applied for through its website.
In recent years, tourism has become critical for Sri Lanka as it has helped the country recover from its economic crisis, which peaked in 2022.
The conflict in the Middle East has already had a huge impact on visitor numbers, which have dropped significantly to 109,410 arrivals between 1 and 18 March, compared to 229,298 arrivals in the same period last year.
Only last month, visitor numbers were reaching close to 280,000, but the outbreak of the war has seen this number drop to well below half so far in March.
Along with fuel shortages, airspace restrictions in the Middle East are throwing connecting flights into disarray.
Tourists flying from the UK to Sri Lanka would usually have a layover in the Middle East, at airports such as Dubai, Doha or Abu Dhabi.
While some of the major hubs have started to gradually resume flights, the Foreign Office “advises against all but essential travel” to the UAE and Qatar.
The Foreign Office also advises that “some flights from Colombo to the UK via Middle Eastern hubs may be delayed, postponed, or re-routed”.
It adds: “British nationals in Sri Lanka should check the latest updates from their airlines and consider alternative carriers or routes where necessary.”
Read more: Sri Lanka mandates four-day week with Wednesdays off amid fuel supply concerns
