France relaxes travel advisory on Sri Lanka

The government of France has scaled down the travel advisory on Sri Lanka from “recommending only essential travel” to “exercise caution.”

Under the travel update, French citizens are requested to maintain strong vigilance during their trip to Sri Lanka and, in any event, avoid any regrouping, a fortiori of a political nature, while keeping themselves regularly informed of developments in the situation.

They are also requested to use a local travel agency for any travel in the interior of the country, which will be best able to manage fuel supplies for registered tourist vehicles.

The travel advisory further states: 

“Sri Lanka is currently experiencing a serious economic and political crisis.”

“Significant shortages affect the whole country. They relate in particular to fuel, strongly restricting travel on the island. It is still difficult to obtain gasoline for tourists traveling on their own. Public transport, both public and private (bus, train), are heavily affected by this situation and operate erratically. Daily power cuts are also applied, but tend to be less severe than in recent months, throughout the territory.”

“The massive demonstrations of July 9, which were generally peaceful, triggered an important political transition phase for the country with the appointment of a new president. The country is also experiencing a certain lull on the shortage front with supplies still limited but better organized. Demonstrations have also been rarer in recent weeks.”