Germany relaxes travel advisory further
by Shanika SRIYANANDA
Germany will further relax its travel advisory to Sri Lanka from this
month following the improvement in the security situation in the
country.
German Ambassador Jens Plotner told the Sunday Observer that Germany
has relaxed the travel advisory after the war and it will be further
relaxed from this month.
The number of tourists to Sri Lanka is increasing rapidly and the
country has become a popular destination due to its beauty. President
Mahinda Rajapaksa has set an ambitious goal to attract over 2.5 million
tourists by 2016. All economic activities are in high gear to meet this
target”, he said.
According to Ambassador Plotner, the only area which Germany has not
yet recommended its tourists to travel is the North as foreigners are
still not permitted to travel to Jaffna. “I hope this will be dropped in
the near future. Once the state of emergency is completely lifted there
will be a situation where there would be no specific travel advisory at
all”, he said. Plotner said Sri Lanka was popular as a destination and
the country has the potential to develop as one of the best eco-friendly
tourist destinations and also as the best country for Ayurveda
treatment.
“Many tourists visit Sri Lanka for Ayurveda treatment. This is
another sector where Sri Lanka has a distinct advantage to popularise
the country among tourists. This sector needs to be developed more”, he
said.
The German Government has pledged nearly US $ 15 million for the
country’s development activities, including the de-mining and poverty
alleviation programs in the North and the East.
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