What the Western Media Gets Wrong About Sri Lanka Tourism

The Western media, from The New York Times to The Washington Post to The Seattle Times and the Toronto City News, picked up an Associated Press article that jumped on a big figure — a 57 percent drop in international arrivals to Sri Lanka in June, compared with June 2018. The story suggests it was due to the fallout from bombings in the country on Easter. While the figure is accurate, what the report failed to say is that the number of foreign tourists to Sri Lanka last month — 63,072 — is a 66 percent increase compared with the 37,802 visitors which the country received in May, which indicates it is on the mend. It also failed to point out that the following governments have either lifted or downgraded their travel advisories to Sri Lanka: Australia, Austria, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, U.K. and, yes, the U.S. Advisories have a major influence on travel decision not only because of safety concerns but th