How will Russians enter the island of Sri Lanka?
Sri Lanka has allowed citizens of the Russian Federation to enter from January 21, 2021, and the Operating Staff has opened direct flights to this country from April 1, but Russian airlines have not yet announced flights to this direction.
Since July 30, SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka, began direct flights to the island from Moscow.
Flights to Sri Lanka (Colombo airport) are carried out from Domodedovo Airport once a week, on Saturdays (Flight UL 534 at 19:15), return departure from Colombo on Fridays (Flight UL 533 at 22:20). Travel time is about 8 hours 25 minutes.
Chairman of the Board of SriLankan Airlines Mr. Ashok Patiregue: The current entry conditions for Russians are somewhat relaxed compared to the previous editions, their full version can be viewed here. For vaccinated tourists, only the Sputnik V vaccine is recognized.
Tourists will be able to stay in certain hotels from a special list at one of the resorts of the country. There are now 210 hotels on the list. Such hotels are closed to local residents (with the exception of staff, of course). Tourists with the vaccine will only need to book a Category 1 hotel for the first night, until the result of the first test.
You need to book a hotel when applying for an online visa (cost $ 30), and you need to get insurance with Covid-19 coverage worth $ 12 with coverage of $ 50 thousand.
Vaccinated tourists need to undergo another PCR test on arrival at the hotel (included in the cost of accommodation), and if it is negative, the hotel administration must issue a Discharge Document to the tourist, with which they can change the hotel and travel around the island if desired. But if they have unvaccinated children (2-18 years old), they must pass a second PCR test on the seventh day.
For unvaccinated tourists, entry conditions are virtually unchanged (but children under 12 will not need an arrival test). However, they will need 15 days to stay in a Level 1 certified hotel, during which they will need to be tested twice for COVID-19 – on the first day and on the 14th day. After that, the tourist can also freely move around the island within the framework of the “biobubble” (excursion objects from a special list, only with a guide) and, if desired, change the hotel. If a tourist leaves the country in the period from 5 to 14 days, then a second test is not required.
Despite the seeming complexity of the conditions, the authorities of Sri Lanka hope that against the background of an acute shortage in the Russian tourist market, affordable exotic destinations in South Asia will be in demand. The diversity of the tourist offer of Sri Lanka (beach holidays, cultural and historical tourism, tea plantations, nature parks) should play a role.
Source: atorus