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.