Recent bombings shatter Sri Lankan tourist bubble
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

COLOMBO, MARCH 26: Sri Lanka was about to toast a record number of foreign holiday-seekers when a fresh wave of bombings dashed hopes of a sustained revival of its battered tourism industry.

Hoteliers late last year were cheering figures that showed the number of tourists visiting the island in 1999 was equal to the days before the island's violent Tamil separatist conflict erupted in 1983. However, an assassination attempt on President Chandrika Kumaratunga by a suicide bomber on December 18, and several devastating bombings since, as well as a street gun battle, appears to have turned back the tide.

"The situation is very bad," said Stefan Pfeiffer, General Manager of the deluxe Lanka Oberoi hotel here. The Oberoi suffered cancellations following the recent bombings. Pfeiffer said a travel advisory issued by Germany was adding to the woes caused by similar warnings by the United States and Japan discouraging visits to the island, once regarded as a prime resort. The Oberoi was to have welcomed about 1,000 Japanese tourists this year, but the deal was called off after the assassination attempt.

Kumaratunga was injured in the attack, while 26 others were killed. On January 5, another woman suicide bomber staged another attack here, killing 11 people and wounding many others.

Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.