Sri Lanka has announced special fuel arrangements for tour operators and hotels as tourist numbers plummet amid the Middle East conflict. The government is limiting fuel purchases due to global supply disruptions caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran, but will implement 'special arrangements' to minimise disruption to the tourism sector, according to the UK Foreign Office.
Alongside the tourism measures, Sri Lanka will allocate a weekly fuel quota for residents and introduce a four-day working week for all state institutions, schools and universities. Wednesdays will now be a holiday for these institutions, and civil servants have been asked to work from home to cut fuel consumption.
Tourism has become critical for Sri Lanka's recovery from its 2022 economic crisis, but the Middle East conflict has hit visitor numbers hard. Arrivals between 1 and 18 March totalled 109,410, compared with 229,298 in the same period last year – a drop of over 50 per cent. Last month, arrivals were close to 280,000.
The conflict has also disrupted air travel, with airspace restrictions in the Middle East affecting connecting flights. Many UK tourists transit via hubs such as Dubai, Doha or Abu Dhabi, and the Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to the UAE and Qatar. It warns that flights from Colombo to the UK via Middle Eastern hubs may be delayed, postponed or re-routed, and urges British nationals in Sri Lanka to check airline updates.
