Sri Lanka Update

Since our last update about Sri Lanka's situation on 12th May, followed by several other updates that had previously been shared, we have been rather hopeful to share a glimmer of hope regarding the economic and political crisis our country is presently facing.

Two weeks ago, a new Prime Minister was appointed and a new set of a cabinet of ministers specializing in each subject area has been appointed.

Following actions are in place to accelerate the country back to some sense of normalcy.

• One billion credit line sought from India and China, to purchase fuel till December 2022
• A fresh budget to replace the current 2022 budget.
• G7 countries agree to fund Sri Lanka.
• JP Morgan Chase Bank back Sri Lankan bonds.
• India allows Sri Lanka to settle loans in INR.
• US Treasury plan paves the way for aid to Sri Lanka in tackling hunger - US$150 million.
• Norochcholai maintenance completed; 260 MW to be added to the national grid.
• LITRO is to deliver approximately 500,000 Gas cylinders within this week.
• A payment worth USD 7 million will be settled, for two more shipments on Monday (May 23) to purchase LP Gas.
• The government has also called for tenders to procure $120 million worth of cooking gas under a large $1 billion credit line from India.

In bringing political stability to the country the present government has given a hearing to the public outcry on changing the constitution with one that has checks and balances, restoring democracy with independent commissions and a President answerable to the parliament. Accordingly, a draft bill on the proposed new 21st Amendment to the Constitution has been presented to the Cabinet of Ministers for discussion yesterday (23rd May 2022).

Starting last week, deliveries of fuel and cooking gas supplies have gathered momentum and the authorities are working hard to continue supplies to ease the demand and thereby bringing in social stability.

Against this backdrop, tourists continue to travel to Sri Lanka despite the exaggerated negative impressions shown on the international media. On several occasions, such travellers have gone above and beyond in explaining how pleasant and safe their travel experience in Sri Lanka has been despite how it is portrayed outside the country. An article in Business Insider Magazine mentions that tourists encourage people to keep visiting Sri Lanka‚

"I was just there, didn't even notice. I had an amazing three weeks," one woman wrote on May 11 in response to another user's question about protests and safety. "There are protests but as soon as you're out of Colombo you're in a holiday bubble."

Bowerman, the travel analyst, said the disconnect could be partially attributed to geography. "Sri Lanka is very small, and the protests do seem to be contained in the capital of Colombo. Tourists tend to head out of Colombo and not spend huge amounts of time there."

"If you head down to one of the resorts in the south of the country, you may not notice it quite so much," he added, referring to the shortages and blackouts."

"Sarkar, a blogger, left the country in May said, "The only change I had to do in the itinerary was to take the shortest route to optimise fuel usage," Sarkar said of her trip."

It has since been announced that Sri Lanka tourism is an essential service and, for that reason, the fuel stocks for all tours run aptly and steadily. We are confident to let you know that Sri Lanka tourism continues to operate uninterruptedly and guarantee that every precautionary measure has been set in place to make our travellers' island getaway as safe, secure and serene as possible.

Check Authenticities social media for our valued client trip reviews on their recent travels to Sri Lanka.

Warm wishes,
Team at Authenticities

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