Galle: The city of, with its ancient forts and sandy beaches Galle Feather Sri LankaThe southern coast of K should be full of vacationers at this time of year.
Instead, another power cut has plunged the city into darkness, and the historic quarter is mostly deserted, except for a lone tourist who uses a flashlight to find his way along the pitch black road.
As Sri Lanka plunges into its worst economic crisis since independence, there is hope in Galle that it can once again become a booming tourist destination even before COVID-19 halted global travel in 2020 .
Power cuts and a lack of essential food have hit the island nation hard for weeks, pulling protesters into the streets and imposing the president Gotabaya Rajapakse The pressure to resign is mounting. One person was killed in a protest on Tuesday, the first death since demonstrations began last month.
Tourism earned Sri Lanka $4.4 billion and contributed 5.6% to GDP in 2018, but this declined to just 0.8% in 2020. However, arrivals topped 100,000 in March for the first time in two years, Sri Lanka’s tourism office said. Overall tourism numbers are higher than in 2021, indicating that many think there will be a pandemic revival.
Samita said, “People are protesting. Roads are blocked. (tourists) need to travel and they need fuel for this and they cannot wait in queues.” in the throat.
Restaurants and hoteliers in Galle are also now pessimistic about a strong revival, as Sri Lanka scrambles for nearly $3 billion in financing to pay for critical imports from multiple sources, including India, China and the World Bank. The country is also in talks for a program International Monetary Fund (IMF) to address its forex woes.
On a recent windy afternoon in Galle, some foreign tourists posed for photographs and strolled its quaint streets, antique shop owners Sepalika Abesundara He died while talking about his problem.
“Not only me but all businesses are suffering because of the current situation. I am very sad about the condition of my country,” he said.
Instead, another power cut has plunged the city into darkness, and the historic quarter is mostly deserted, except for a lone tourist who uses a flashlight to find his way along the pitch black road.
As Sri Lanka plunges into its worst economic crisis since independence, there is hope in Galle that it can once again become a booming tourist destination even before COVID-19 halted global travel in 2020 .
Power cuts and a lack of essential food have hit the island nation hard for weeks, pulling protesters into the streets and imposing the president Gotabaya Rajapakse The pressure to resign is mounting. One person was killed in a protest on Tuesday, the first death since demonstrations began last month.
Tourism earned Sri Lanka $4.4 billion and contributed 5.6% to GDP in 2018, but this declined to just 0.8% in 2020. However, arrivals topped 100,000 in March for the first time in two years, Sri Lanka’s tourism office said. Overall tourism numbers are higher than in 2021, indicating that many think there will be a pandemic revival.
Samita said, “People are protesting. Roads are blocked. (tourists) need to travel and they need fuel for this and they cannot wait in queues.” in the throat.
Restaurants and hoteliers in Galle are also now pessimistic about a strong revival, as Sri Lanka scrambles for nearly $3 billion in financing to pay for critical imports from multiple sources, including India, China and the World Bank. The country is also in talks for a program International Monetary Fund (IMF) to address its forex woes.
On a recent windy afternoon in Galle, some foreign tourists posed for photographs and strolled its quaint streets, antique shop owners Sepalika Abesundara He died while talking about his problem.
“Not only me but all businesses are suffering because of the current situation. I am very sad about the condition of my country,” he said.