Jimu News reporter Hu Li
Affected by the epidemic, the global economy is weak, the inflation in European and American countries is serious, and the tourism industry has suffered heavy losses. According to the World Tourism Organization, the total loss of global tourism revenue in 2020 and 2021 is about 4 trillion US dollars (about 21 trillion yuan).
In order to revive the economy, countries have to adopt new immigration control measures. However, some countries are too late to wait for the tourism market to pick up, and the economies of tourism countries led by Sri Lanka are gradually collapsing.
Sri Lanka is bankrupt and still wants to revive its tourism industry
Sri Lanka’s roughly pear-shaped topography is known as the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean”, and its capital, Colombo, is known as the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean”. It is known as the “Crossroads of the East”. Although the country is small in size, the country’s mild climate and abundant natural resources make it a tourist destination.
According to Bloomberg News, tourism has been the main driver of foreign exchange inflows in Sri Lanka, and Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange reserves in May have been reduced to 1.89 billion US dollars.
In 2019, 8 major serial bombings occurred in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, which caused panic among the people. Then, due to the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, Sri Lanka’s tourism industry was hit hard.
2019 bomb attack site (Source: Associated Press)
Last September, The President of Sri Lanka declared that the country has entered a “state of economic emergency”, which means that the economic crisis has officially broken out in Sri Lanka. In July this year, Sri Lanka admitted state bankruptcy. The country is at a standstill, with more than $50 billion in debt, and the president resigns after fleeing.
Nowadays, Sri Lanka faces the problem of the exodus of the president, the shortage of energy, and the hardship of the people. Still, Sri Lanka is hoping to restore its tourism industry to its former glory amid the country’s turmoil.
Protesters in Sri Lanka (Source: Bloomberg)
Sri Lanka MPs, according to Bloomberg Harlem Fernando said the authorities will attract Indian tourists first as a first step to revive the tourism economy.
Fernando said: “The authorities will start roadshows in five Indian cities from next month to attract Indian tourists.” Fernando added that Sri Lanka hopes to attract about 1 million tourists in 2022, and the government plans to More fuel supplies were secured by the week before to ensure that international airlines continued to fly to the country.
However, Jimu News previously interviewed Chinese living in Sri Lanka and revealed that the current fuel shortage in the country is very serious. They all started using horse-drawn carriages and bicycles.
People lining up to cheer up (Source: BBC)
Multinational reopening borders Attracting tourists
In addition to Sri Lanka, at least dozens of countries around the world “can’t wait” to reopen their borders and resume their tourism.
Japan reopened last month to tourists from 98 countries, including the United States, after more than two years of border closures. Not only did Thailand allow tourists to enter the country with just proof of vaccination, it even legalized marijuana in June. Thai Health Minister Anutin said: “There is no problem with tourists coming to Thailand to buy cannabis products for medical treatment.”
According to the official website of the European Council, the 27 EU countries announced that tourists only need to bring vaccines. Proof of vaccination or proof of recovery or proof of negative test can travel freely between the 27 EU countries without isolation or additional testing for the new coronavirus.
Greece announced that from May 2 this year, all travelers to Greece, regardless of their country of origin and vaccination status, will be allowed unrestricted entry. Greek Health Minister Thanos Plevris said that once the new decision takes effect, incoming passengers will be able to enter Greece without restrictions without showing any new crown nucleic acid certificate. Greece expects record tourist arrivals this year, with tourism receipts recovering to 80% of 2019 levels.