Tui cancels Sri Lanka holidays following change in Foreign Office advice

A State of Emergency was declared in the country on 6 May

Beaches near Bentota, Sri Lanka (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Tui has cancelled all of its Sri Lanka holidays up to and including 31 May 2022, amid unrest and violent clashes sparked by an economic crisis in the country.

The Foreign Office (FCDO) changed its advice on Friday, adding a warning against all but essential travel to the Indian Ocean island, which has had a surge in popularity among British holidaymakers in recent years.

“The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) now advises against all but essential travel to Sri Lanka, due to ongoing political and economic instability,” reads the update.

A Tui spokesperson wrote: “Due to the ongoing political and economic instability in Sri Lanka, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) have advised against all but essential travel.

“As a result, we’ve unfortunately had to cancel all holidays to Sri Lanka departing up to and including 31 May 2022. We will be proactively contacting all impacted customers in departure date order to discuss their options.”

There was no implication that Britons currently on holiday in Sri Lanka should come home, with Tui saying they can “continue to enjoy” their trip.

“Please note this advice does not apply to customers transiting through Sri Lanka’s international airport and customers currently in resort can continue to enjoy their holiday as planned,” continued the statement.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and update customers should there be any further updates. We would like to thank our customers for their understanding at this time.”

A State of Emergency was declared in the country by president Gotabaya Rajapaksa on 6 May.

Sri Lanka has been gripped by protests for more than a month, which have spread from the capital to the countryside, in response to critical shortages of fuel, cooking gas and medicine, alongside rolling power cuts. People have been queuing for hours to buy essentials.

The State of Emergency gives president Rajapaksa broad authority amid widespread public protests, most of them demanding his resignation over the country’s worst economic crisis in recent memory.

Police have used tear gas and water cannons at the protests, which are mostly taking place in cities such as Colombo and Kandy.

The Foreign Office advice refers to “several incidents [that] took place on 9 May involving violence against peaceful protesters” and warns that “further incidents could take place.”