Foreign Policy Adjustments and Sri Lanka's Tourism Recovery in the Post-Easter Sunday Attacks

Abstract

In response to the profound challenges posed by the Easter Sunday Attacks, this study explores the pivotal role of foreign policy adjustments in facilitating the recovery of Sri Lanka's tourism industry. After the Easter attack in 2019, Sri Lanka‟s tourism industry suffered a severe setback. But at the same time, we can see the local tourism industry rising as usual. This research holds significance by highlighting the pivotal role of foreign policy changes in rejuvenating a nation's tourism sector after a major crisis, providing valuable insights for academia and policymakers alike. The purpose of our research is to investigate and analyze the factors that led to the rapid recovery of the local tourism industry in Sri Lanka. Through this research, we hope to discuss the strategies employed by Sri Lanka in the field of local tourism in rebuilding the tourism industry that collapsed during the post-Easter attack period. The study is based on a qualitative method using secondary data sources. Key findings of this research include a comprehensive analysis of the foreign policy changes adopted by Sri Lanka post-Easter Sunday Attacks, the identification of their direct impact on tourism recovery, and the assessment of the overall effectiveness of these policy adjustments in rebuilding the country's tourism sector. These insights contribute to a deeper understanding of the relationship between foreign policy and crisis recovery in the tourism industry context. In the years since the Easter attacks, we can clearly see that the strategies used by Sri Lanka to attract local tourists to their tourist centers have been very successful.