UK stands adamantly on Sri Lanka travel advisory amidst calls for reform
By: Staff Writer
March 28, Colombo (LNW): Despite growing pressure to reform the travel Advisory on Sri Lanka, Britain on Tuesday said that its travel advice assessments are made by drawing on expert sources of information available to the government and that they ‘continue to keep Sri Lanka travel advise under close review.’
“The safety of British people is the main factor when determining our travel advice for all countries, including Sri Lanka.
Our advice is designed to help British people make informed decisions about foreign travel and remains under constant review to ensure it reflects our latest assessment of risks when travelling abroad,” Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon Minister of State-Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, said in UK Parliament.
He was responding to the question, whether the UK government has any plans to update the travel advice to Sri Lanka to reflect the security situation in that country.
“Our travel advice is based on objective assessments of the risks to British nationals. These assessments are made by drawing on expert sources of information available to the government including local knowledge from our embassies and information provided by the local authorities in each country.
We will continue to keep Sri Lanka travel advice under close review,” the Minister of State-Foreign, Commonwealth stated.
In the recent past, leading tourism providers from UK and Sri Lanka have urged its Government to reform the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) travel advice regarding the safety of Britons abroad.
During a recent debate in UK parliament, Lord Naseby has requested that the Travel Advisory be changed. As tourism plays a major role in the Sri Lankan economy.
Leading tourism providers from UK and Sri Lanka have urged its Government to reform the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) travel advice regarding the safety of Britons abroad.
In an open letter, the current advice is labelled ‘overly harsh’ by campaigners who condemned the Government for ‘systematically undermining the travel industry’ in Sri Lanka and demands for a new approach to achieve ‘consistency’.
The open letter also details the effect on Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, which currently employs over 380,000 people last year. The campaign claims that the advice could damage tourism to Sri Lanka, negatively impacting the one in five people in Sri Lanka who rely on income generated by tourism.
Experience Travel Group Co-founder and Managing Director Sam Clark said: “It is clear that the FCDO travel advice is no longer fit for purpose in relation to Sri Lanka.
