brand logo

‘Foreigners only’ establishments to lose licence

19 Jan 2022

  • SLTDA advises travellers to abstain from booking such places
By Imsha Iqbal  The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) has taken a decision to cancel the licence of tourist establishments that follow the discriminatory policy of “foreigners only”, thereby not allowing local tourists into such establishments. Issuing a press release, the SLTDA yesterday (18) said: “Should there be a formal complaint and found to have been discriminatory, we would not hesitate to suspend or cancel licence, including informing travellers and notifying online travel agencies to abstain from taking bookings.” Numerous complaints were reported recently on social media that along with the increasing number of foreign tourist arrivals in the country, certain local tourists were subjected to discrimatination, for merely being a Sri Lankan citizen.   One of the foreign tourists reviewed a tourist establishment in Mirissa on Google Maps, saying: “Was asked if I were Sri Lankan by the staff; looks like locals are not allowed to this place.” Another foreign tourist reviewed the same tourist establishment, noting: “We  had to pay Rs. 3,000 for entry. When we noticed some others were not paying entry, they informed us that if you are from Sri Lanka, India, or Pakistan you have to pay an entry fee of Rs. 3,000.” The SLTDA statement further said that tourism industry stakeholders should be grateful to domestic tourists since they supported the industry when the Government, during multiple occasions, decided to close Sri Lankan shores for foreign travellers, to mitigate the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.  Nevertheless, the same tourist establishment was reviewed by local tourists a few months prior to the lifting of aviation restrictions for foreign tourists, stating: “The owners allowed us to park our vehicles inside their premises, which is very generous, because there were no parking spaces on the road leading to the restaurants.”   Further, the SLTDA urged domestic travellers to ensure that the tourist property is taken care of while adhering to the hotel’s requirements. Further, the SLTDA said that the tourist establishments could make complaints against the guests who neither care for the property nor adhere to the stated requirements of the establishments, and that actions would be taken against guests by the SLTDA.  Moreover, the SLTDA reiterated: “Our Constitution affords the equal right to all citizens; where no person shall, on the grounds of race, religion, language, caste, sex, or any one such grounds, be subjected to any disability, liability, restriction, or condition concerning access to shops, public restaurants, hotels, places of public entertainment, and places of worship.” Speaking to The Morning Business earlier this year, SLTDA Director General Dhammika Wijesinghe stated that Sri Lanka has been able to earn a revenue of $ 500 million last year (2021) despite the pandemic and aims to earn $ 1.1 billion this year (2022). Further, the  SLTDA recently announced that Sri Lanka has been named a winner at the Readers’ Choice Awards by Condé Nast Traveller and during the award announcement in London, Condé Nast Traveller Global Editorial Director Divia Thani said: “The diversity and vibrancy of our Readers’ Choice Awards winners represent a desire to get back out into the world and experience the best of what the travel industry has to offer. As restrictions ease, it is clear that our readers have spent much of the last year-and-a-half dreaming about travel and planning future adventures.”


More News..