BENTOTA – Sri Lanka’s $4.4-billion tourism industry reeled from cancellations after multiple suicide bombings killed over 250 people two weeks ago.
Suspected suicide bombers from Islamic groups in Sri Lanka attacked churches and luxury hotels on Easter Sunday, killing worshippers, tourists and their families.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Tourism, which accounts for five percent of the country’s gross domestic product suffered as tourists from around the world canceled hotel and flight bookings for fear of more attacks.
A decline of more than one hundred percent indicates more cancellations than bookings.
Sri Lanka’s tourism bureau chairman Kishu Gomes said cancellation rates at hotels across the country averaged 70 percent as of Saturday, with the capital Colombo taking a bigger hit. (Reuters)
