Elated by island welcome

“The hospitality has been amazing!” said Linda Van de Walle, a Belgian tourist travelling with her children. She has come to Sri Lanka during the second week of September and had to travel in lockdown but noted that she only had to spend one day in quarantine at a level one hotel.

“I think Sri Lanka is doing a great job with the vaccination programme and when I compare it with all my travels, Sri Lanka is way ahead which is obviously very advantageous to the international tourism market, too.” She confirmed that fully vaccinated tourists could move around with minimal restrictions and held that the protocols made Sri Lanka feel safer.

“I like to tell people we opened the country!” she said while adding that doing things like watching a sunrise from Pidurangala and watching the Temple of the Tooth Relic rituals alone had been a whole new experience. She had been able to complete all the activities planned, save for a Galle city trip that didn’t involve church visits as they were closed. “I love the wildlife, the national heritage, and the things like Stupas here very much — and the street food like kottu and egg hoppers are amazing.”

While some shops were closed during the lockdown, Linda and her children dined at homestays when takeaway wasn’t available.

While she had expected animosity on account of the travel restrictions on locals but not tourists, she held that the people had been welcoming.

“I actually felt safer in Sri Lanka than in Belgium because everyone here wore masks very diligently,” she said.

The absence of public transport was most likely tough on backpackers but she believes the winter overseas is promising for the island. “Sri Lanka deserves it!”