Sri Lanka travel advice: Foreign Office updates its guidance for UK holidaymakers planning holidays to the island

The Foreign Office has updated its travel warning for a popular holiday warning. The travel warning for Sri Lanka, an island country in South Asia, has been softened and has been welcomed as a huge boost for holidaymakers.

The UK government never advised against travel to Sri Lanka but earlier this month it was warning visitors of risks including shortages of the likes of fuel and food, as well as a number of power cuts and potential political unrest. In January, the Experience Travel Group (ETG) launched a campaign with an open letter warning that the Foreign Office's advice for Sri Lanka "systematically undermines the travel industry" because these warning were dating back to events on the island in 2022. The group added that the moderate risk no longer applied for visitors today.

Now, the Foreign Office has updated its advice for the holiday hotspot. It has removed warnings of food or fuel shortages in a move that has been celebrated by the campaigners.

Sam Clark, CEO of Experience Travel Group told The Mirror it is a “major win for all those who signed up to our public campaign for fairer, more accurate travel guidance on Sri Lanka.” He added: "Nobody should deny themselves the beauties and cultural riches of this amazing country just because of a moderate risk that exists everywhere. After all the UK itself is no stranger to political protest. If people are deterred from travel on that basis, they would never even leave their own front doors."

Despite removing the warnings of food and fuel shortages, Foreign Office does continue to have a series of warnings in place if you are planning to travel. For example, it warns that "terrorists are likely to try and carry out attacks in Sri Lanka", and that "protests and demonstrations can happen anywhere across the island at short notice, and can become violent".

It also urges Brits to be vigilant and store belongings safely amidst "an increase in incidents of low-level opportunistic crime". However, the government still doesn't advise against travelling to Sri Lanka so tourists can still explore the island.