Exactly a month has passed since that dreadful day when the seas rose up and devoured over 200,000 people. I am writing this to paint an accurate picture of what’s been happening since then and how we as Sri Lankans are rebuilding our country.
The tsunami waves affected most hotels on the eastern, western and southern coasts. A few of the lucky ones were completely untouched and continued on without interruption. Most of the hotels on the south and west coast have now repaired and are ready to resume operations by the 01st of February. The badly affected ones which luckily are only a few hope to be ready for the next season in November 2005.
The beaches which Sri Lanka is known for are back to normal in most of the areas. You might see the odd boat capsized in the water or something of that nature, but the beaches around the resorts are clean and safe for swimming.
Hotels in the ancient cities, the hill country, Wildlife parks are all completely unaffected and continue operations unaffected.
We as a company have suffered badly from the cancellations. This was mainly due to the fact that there was a lot of worry about water borne diseases and other such threats. Although this was never the case people are still very wary of coming to Sri Lanka.
I was down on the west coast 2 days ago and saw the destruction with my own eyes. I also saw the humanitarian work that is going on and everything seems to be returning to normal.
A lot of our guests who cancelled told us that one of their primary reasons for cancellation was the fact that they did not want to be having a holiday when thousands were suffering. Although this statement is correct we would like to present the other side of the story.
Tourism is Sri Lanka’s third highest foreign exchange earner. Most of the hotels in Sri Lanka employ people from the surrounding villages. The hotels that are now open are facing a difficult situation where they are now unable to pay salaries of their staff. Most of the staff at these hotels particularly the beach hotels have lost their homes and have only their salaries to survive on.
We appeal to all those hoping to travel this year to visit Sri Lanka or for that matter a country affected by the tsunami. We as Sri Lankans welcome you back.
