Easter Sunday blast carnage casts pall over Sri Lanka's tourism revival
Colombo - With its capital under curfew following devastating Easter Sunday bomb attacks on churches and upmarket hotels, Sri Lanka is filled with fear, horror and grief and tourists who have been flocking to the Indian Ocean island could cancel in droves.
"Not giving in to terror. We want to support you in your time of need. Never gave any thought about cancelling our trip," Facebook user John Karmouche said in a post. But the suicide bombers who killed at least 290 people, including 32 foreigners, and wounded 500 have in all likelihood ended the boom in tourism for some time.
A U.S. State Department travel advisory warned of the danger of "terrorist groups" plotting more attacks. Targets could include tourist locations, transport hubs, shopping malls, hotels, places of worship and airports. JTB, Japan's largest travel agency, has waived cancellation charges, and modified its package tours leaving Japan before May 10 to avoid risky locations, like Colombo, and will decide later on tours leaving after May 11, a spokeswoman said.
The peak season for tourism in Sri Lanka is between December and March, while the rainy monsoon season lies between May and September.
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