What Can You Expect When Sri Lanka Opens To International Visitors?
Having been closed for ten months due to the coronavirus pandemic, Sri Lanka reopens to international visitors on January 21, with conditions.
Sri Lanka firmly closed its borders to visitors for ten months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the country is opening up to international visitors on January 21, but with strict health and safety protocols in place.
Health Declaration Form For Sri Lanka
Authorities in Sri Lanka have put in place a series of safety guidelines and precautionary measures for those international visitors coming to take in the many beaches, timeless ruins and welcoming locals. Among these precautions is the completion of a health declaration form that must be submitted either prior to boarding a flight to Sri Lanka, or on arrival in the country.
Visitors must also produce a negative PCR test, taken up to 96 hours prior to arrival. Travelers must also undergo two further tests if staying for up to seven days, or three, should the duration of their stay be more than one week.
Proof Of Accommodation
International visitors must also produce proof of a reservation at one of Sri Lanka’s 55 certified “Safe & Secure” hotels, which local residents cannot frequent, with the exception of hotel staff. The hotel will lay on independent transport for each individual group of visitors from the airport.
On arrival, visitors are placed in semi-quarantine and are not permitted to move outside their hotel for a period of up to 14 days. This is with the exception of trips to approved tourist sites during allocated timeslots. As long as the on-arrival PCR test is negative, these visits must be conducted under a bio-security bubble.
Following the 14-day period, visitors are then permitted to leave the hotel, again as long as their PCR test results are negative. They can then move to any accommodation of their choice and freely interact with the community at large.
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Required Travel Insurance
International visitors will also be required to take out travel insurance at a cost of $12 to cover them up to $50,000 in virus-related medical costs.
However, it should be noted that anyone who has spent up to two weeks in the United Kingdom prior to arriving in Sri Lanka will not be permitted to enter the country. In fact, flights from the UK remain banned in an effort to keep out any more contagious coronavirus variants.
Sri Lanka Welcomes You
Kimarli Fernando is the chairperson of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority. He said in a recent statement that it is with “great pleasure and excitement” that they announce that Sri Lanka will be open for tourism from Thursday (January 21).
Fernando added, “As we open our doors to the world once again, we have pulled out all the stops, ensuring that every precautionary measure has been set in place to make the island getaway as safe, secure and serene as possible for the visitors.”
Find out more about what Sri Lanka has to offer you as a visitor, as well as more information about COVID-19 protocols on the Sri Lanka Tourism website.
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