ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka Tourism said it is requesting further debt relief for the tourist industry which has been hard hit by the Coronavirus pandemic.
“With the third wave of the pandemic severely affecting the Industry, tourism authorities have requestednew relief from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka in addition to the extended debt moratorium from banks and finance companies, as well as concessionary working capital which was arranged for the industry in 2020/2021,” Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority said.
“In order to extend this support, Sri Lanka Tourism is further requesting the Central Bank to write-off of outstanding debts or interest waivers in order to sustain stakeholders who would otherwise have to shut down operations in the absence of tourists.”
Tourism authorities haveextended the validity period of licenses of all tourism establishments registered with the SLTDA until the December 31, 2021.
The validity of Tourist Guides licenses has also been extended until later on this year.