Help Sri Lanka to Cheer Again

As we all know to the prevailing situation of the world everyone is going through a really tough Times. Although people who have earned and who gets a monthly fixed income will be able to survive but not the people who finds their daily wage.

In Sri Lanka most of the people were engaged in Tourism and they doing really well. But in 2019 the bomb attack was a major hit for them and once our country economic and people who were engaged directly in Tourism were going through a very tough period. And by time Sri Lanka was names as a the best destination to travel by Lonely Planet Lonely Planet Reveals Its Best In Travel List For 2019 – Where To Holiday in 2019 (countryliving.com) and then COVID - 19 Virus was affecting them since 2020.

As I'm a professional in Travel and Tourism.(3) ✪ Shanila Jayawardana ✪ | LinkedIn I know how people survive and I have seen it how Tour guides which Tour guiding was their income source are going through a tough times.

I will Share one of a story of a Scuba Diver

Pearl Divers, a diving school on one of Sri Lanka’s most popular southern beaches, shut shop for two months after suicide bombers attacked churches and hotels on the island on Easter Sunday, killing about 250 people. It had no customers as tourists canceled holidays, and its manager Nuwan Harshana says he took two months leave and a pay cut.

Last week, he dusted off the diving equipment and boats, used to carry scuba enthusiasts off the shore of Unawatuna beach, in the hope that foreigners will start to trickle into the country again and the shop can slowly build back to the $800 a day in revenue it made before the attacks.

But there is no sign of any quick upturn in his fortunes.

“Everything was good before April. Now that situation is finished ... there are no customers,” said Harshana, who said he is worried about earning enough to look after his wife and two children, while also meeting his monthly loan payments.

The economy of Sri Lanka, a sun-drenched island in the Indian Ocean, depends heavily on the $4.4 billion tourism industry. Small businesses like Pearl Divers have been on the rise since the nation’s civil war ended in 2009 and tourists poured in.

But after the bombings in April, tourist arrivals slumped 70% in May and 57% in June from a year earlier. Many small businesses, that employ thousands, are now either forced to lay off staff or have them work for minimal pay.

This is already having a domino effect on the economy, further hitting consumer demand.

The government has introduced a series of measures to boost tourism, including lowering airport charges, cutting taxes on jet fuel and pushing hotels to offer discounts. It is planning to relax visa rules for residents of a number of countries.

It has also asked banks to lower lending rates and give loan moratoriums. But the relief is yet to reach many small businesses that make up the backbone of the economy.

“Clearly it took banks a bit of time to gear up for it ... As they had to work out the decision making process,” central bank governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy said on Thursday.

Dilum Ranjana, who owns a foot spa in the fort city of Galle in the south, said he had to fire three of seven employees and postpone plans to open a second branch because he was getting hardly any income in the past couple of months.

“It is not easy to get a loan, there is a lot of paperwork and bureaucracy,” said Ranjana, who has monthly expenses of $2,300 in rent, bills and salaries. He said he has so far made $570 in July, a tenth of what he did last year.

“All my plans are lost, they are ruined,” he said.

So with Collaboration Meraki Travels (Pvt) Ltd we have started this project to help them. If you are kind hearted with giving thought to the people who are in tough time then this is for you.

We look forward for your donations from all around the world.