Following the attacks made on Easter Sunday, Sri Lanka is set to lose USD 1.5 billion in tourism revenue, which has resulted in highly negative impacts on Maldives tourism.
President of The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL), Mr. Santh Ukwatte told the Daily FT that they estimate a loss of USD 1.5 billion in tourism earnings in 2019. He called upon the Sri Lankan government to support the employees who may lose their jobs.
Due to these attacks made on Sri Lanka, as its closest neighboring country, Maldives is suffering to a great extent. For instance, there has been an increase in cancellations in reservations made by tourists to visit Maldives and resorts are suffering due to the aforementioned reason. Many tourists are absent for their bookings in Sri Lanka airlines flights. As many tourists do split holidays in Sri Lanka and Maldives, this, in turn, reduces the number of tourists who visit Maldives.
Unless more effort is not put in to try and bring back the demand and popularity of Maldives, it is highly likely that the government will be unable to reach the goal of bringing in 1.5 million tourists by the end of 2019.
