Russian Invasion and Aeroflot’s Halt of Flights Creates an Adverse Impact on Sri Lankan Tourism
The Russian national carrier, Aeroflot halted its international flights from the 8th of March 2022, following the invasion of Ukraine. This resulted in a significant drop in Russian nationals travelling to a Galle, Colombo or a Negombo beach hotel during their peak arrival season of December to March. Resorts like Heritance Negombo faced major drops in tourist numbers and revenue as Ukraine and Russia used to be the top travellers to the country. Nalin Jayasundera, the Vice President of the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) and the Managing Director of Aitken Spence Travels made a statement to ECONOMYNEXT that, “Russia was the key market for Sri Lanka. This is not good news for us.”
Since the country reopened for international arrivals following the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, Russia and Ukraine surged to the top as the highest markets for tourism due to their adoration of Sri Lankan beaches, its people and culture.