Like the rest of the world we have been shocked and deeply saddened by the terrorist events in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday.

Although hugely relieved that our clients and local travel partners are safe, several of their colleagues were victims. The Shangri La Hotel, Colombo has also successfully hosted many a Nomadic Thoughts client over the years.

The Sri Lankan Government has understandably declared a state of emergency, with night-time curfew procedures in place (10pm – 6am).

With the safety of our clients at the forefront of our minds, we continue to monitor the situation through our local travel partners and governmental authorities. The UK Foreign Office Travel Advice has confirmed that they anticipate ongoing security operations to continue for a number of days. Equally, as with previous travel advice after recent terrorist events in New Zealand, Belgium, France, India, East Africa, Philippines and Morocco, they are not advising against travel to Sri Lanka.

Nomadic Thoughts is therefore accepting bookings as normal and encouraging people to go.

Whilst we are offering a voluntary cancellation policy to clients travelling in the next 10 days, I am delighted to confirm that to date everyone has decided to continue with their travels. The island greatly appreciates and relies on the valuable support they receive from tourism, indeed, the overriding message from Sri Lanka is “please, please do continue to visit us”. Whilst everyone is exercising a greater degree of caution locally, our suppliers remain upbeat and even keener to welcome and look after their visitors.

For the record:

• Colombo airport is fully operational. All travellers are currently being asked to arrive for check in one hour earlier than normal.
• Hotels across the country are operating as normal, most of which are putting in additional security arrangements for peace of mind.
• The country’s tourist attractions in and outside Colombo are open and welcoming visitors.
• Nomadic Thoughts’ ground colleagues and travel partners remain at your service with an even bigger hug and smile than normal.
• Sri Lanka Tourism have reassured tourists already in the country that police, tourism police and security forces are “jointly implementing a comprehensive security plan to secure tourist safety across the island including all important tourist sites”.

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you require any further information.