Travel Advisor Risk and Responsibility in Sri Lanka
Skift Take
Leisure travel advisors may not have the same obligations as their corporate travel counterparts when it comes to keeping travelers safe, but this week’s terror attack raises questions about risk and responsibility.
Travelers to Sri Lanka can be justifiably concerned after the Easter Sunday bomb blasts in churches and luxury hotels in the capital, Colombo, which killed at least 310 people and injured more than 450.
While it appears local authorities in Sri Lanka were aware of threats to public safety, there were few warnings to foreigners. However, that has all changed and the UK government is now warning on its Foreign Travel Advice website that “terrorists are very likely to carry out attacks in Sri Lanka.”
The Foreign Office noted that security has been stepped up across the island, and there are ongoing security operations. “These may continue for a number of days and the situation remains dynamic,” it advised.
Similarly, the U.S. State Department is urging travelers to “exercise increased caution in Sri Lanka due to terrorism.”
“Terrorist groups continue plotting possible attacks in Sri Lanka. Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, local government facilities, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, parks, major sporting and cultural events, educational institutions, airports, and other public areas,” according to the State Department travel advisory.
For those travelers already in Sri Lanka, U.S. authorities recommend paying attention to their surroundings when traveling to tourist locations and crow
