TUI holiday travel warning as it cancels all holidays to Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: Armoured vehicles patrol the Colombo streets

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TUI has cancelled all its holiday bookings to Sri Lanka until May 27. This is due to political and economic instability in Sri Lanka.

TUI said: “Due to the ongoing political and economic instability in Sri Lanka, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) have advised against all but essential travel.

“As a result, we’ve unfortunately had to cancel all holidays to Sri Lanka departing up to and including May 27 2022.

“We will be proactively contacting all impacted customers in departure date order to discuss their options.

“Please note this advice does not apply to customers transiting through Sri Lanka’s international airport and customers currently in resort can continue to enjoy their holiday as planned.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and update customers should there be any further updates.

“We would like to thank our customers for their understanding at this time.”

A state of emergency has been declared in Sri Lanka and an island-wide curfew is currently in place.

The UK Government said: “If you in Sri Lanka at this time, or considering travel, you should avoid all protests and follow the advice of local authorities.

“The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority has confirmed that international travellers can use their passports and airline tickets as curfew passes to travel to and from the airport.

“The economic situation is deteriorating in Sri Lanka with shortages of basic necessities including medicines, cooking gas, fuel and food because of a shortage of hard currency to pay for imports.

“There may be long queues at shops and supermarkets, fuel stations and pharmacies.

“There are ongoing daily power cuts due to electricity rationing.”

Gas prices have tripled in Sri Lanka since September 2021 and the price of food has doubled in the last few months.

Protests have taken place in the capital Colombo and around the country over the cost of living crisis.

There have been outbreaks of violence between pro and anti Government groups and the military are patrolling the streets.

Violence has been used against peaceful protestors including the use of tear gas and water cannons.

The Government warning does not apply to tourists who are transiting through Sri Lanka’s international airport.

Britons who are currently in Sri Lanka should follow Government advice and avoid any protests.

Sri Lanka is a popular holiday destination with many Britons travelling to its stunning beaches.

It’s also a popular cricket destination and many cricket fans travel to watch matches in Sri Lanka.

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