The United States State Department has issued a Level-3 travel advisory for its nationals traveling to Sri Lanka, asking them to “reconsider” their plans as the island country sees massive protests and a shortage of fuel, food, and essentials due to a debilitating economic crisis.

“Reconsider travel to Sri Lanka due to COVID-19 and fuel and medicine shortages. Exercise increased caution in Sri Lanka due to terrorism,” the US State Department said in its updated travel advisory on Wednesday. However, terrorism has remained in its advisory since April 2019, when the country was rocked by the Easter Bombings.

The US travel advisory mentioned the ongoing nationwide protests amid economic hardships and long-scheduled and unscheduled power cuts. It, however, maintained the protests have largely remained peaceful.

Faced with a crippling shortage of foreign reserve exchange, the country has been facing a shortage of fuel, food, and medicine, with some hospitals reportedly facing closure. Power plants have been struggling for fuel, resulting in countrywide power cuts, sometimes lasting up to 13 hours in a day.

Apart from the economic assistance through bilateral means, authorities are in touch with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF had said earlier that it will explore all options for a credible and coherent strategy to restore the country’s macro-economic stability and debt sustainability. 

This year alone Colombo is due to repaying foreign debt totaling nearly $ 7 billion, while the estimated earnings from exports and tourism are expected to be around $ 12 billion and $ 3 billion respectively. However, import bills are expected to surpass $22 billion, creating a huge trade deficit of around $10 billion. Remittances would cover a maximum of $3 billion.

Significantly, the recent domestic developments along with the travel advisory will certainly have an impact on the country’s tourism industry, one of its important sources of foreign exchange. Once bringing in around $4 billion annually, the industry has been struggling to recover since the pandemic began in 2020.

(SAM)