US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung has confirmed that there has been no change to the travel advisory issued by the US Department of State for Sri Lanka recently. 

Ambassador Chung noted that the U.S. Department of State regularly issues travel advisory updates to enable U.S. citizens to make informed decisions about international travel. 

“The Travel Advisory issued for Sri Lanka on October 9 remains at Level 2. There was no change to the advisory level,” Ambassador Chung added, in a post on ‘X’. 

The clarification comes as several recent reports claimed that the U.S. Department of State has revised its travel advisory for Sri Lanka. 

However, the travel advisory was updated last week only to include landmine risks, as lands in the war-affected Northern part of Sri Lanka had been released to the public after several years.

The U.S. Department of State’s travel advisory on Sri Lanka: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/sri-lanka-travel-advisory.html (Newswire)

The @StateDept regularly issues travel advisory updates to allow U.S. citizens to make informed international travel decisions. The Travel Advisory issued for Sri Lanka on October 9 remains at Level 2–there was no change to the advisory level. https://t.co/MuygWSuEdt

— Ambassador Julie Chung (@USAmbSL) October 15, 2025

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The U.S. Embassy confirms the Level 2 advisory on Sri Lanka is unchanged, Opposition MP Harsha de Silva said, adding that Sri Lanka is safe and thriving. 

Taking to ‘X’, MP Harsha de Silva said that the advisory was a routine update and that no new risks had been mentioned.

“Some media misreported old information. Tourism is booming, nearing 2018 highs! Come enjoy our culture & beauty,” he added. 

Also addressing the matter, the Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance said that the US Department of State has reaffirmed its advisory with no change in overall risk. 

The Alliance pointed out that the only update was the standard global note about landmine awareness, referencing a small, demarcated jungle area in the far north that is not near any tourist regions. 

Sri Lanka remains a safe, welcoming, and rewarding destination for visitors, the Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance added.

According to reports, the travel advisory was updated last week (09) only to include landmine risks as lands in the Northern part of Sri Lanka had been released to the public after several years. (Newswire)

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The British Government has updated its travel advisory to its citizens, warning of the risks of being involved with illegal drugs, including cannabis, in Sri Lanka.

The travel advisory warns that this includes the risk of arrest if they are found carrying drugs when transiting through the airport.

“Illegal drugs, including cannabis, carry severe penalties. You should expect a long jail sentence and heavy fines for possessing, using or smuggling illegal drugs, including when transiting through the airport. Airports in Sri Lanka use technology to detect illegal items. This is also used to scan the baggage of transiting passengers,” the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office said, issuing a warning on Illegal drugs.

The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office further said that there are severe penalties for drug offences, terrorism and all other serious crimes. 

“The authorities could hold you without charge indefinitely. If convicted, you may face a lengthy prison sentence. If you’re arrested under Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism Act, the authorities could detain you without charge, awaiting a trial date,” it warned. 

The travel advisory was issued after the 21-year-old Charlotte May Lee from south London was arrested in Sri Lanka in May after authorities allegedly found 46kg of cannabis in her suitcases when she arrived on a flight from Thailand. Lee, who had denied knowing the alleged drugs were in her luggage, remains in remand custody in Sri Lanka. 

Under such circumstances, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office said the travel advisory on drugs issued on 06 June remains effective at present. 

For further details, visit https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/sri-lanka (Newswire)

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The National Security Council (NSC) of Israel has called on Israelis to leave Sri Lanka’s Arugam Bay area and other beaches in the island’s south and west immediately, citing terrorism threats.

“Those leaving these areas are advised to leave the country or at least to the capital Colombo, where there is a high presence of local security forces,” says the NSC.

According to the Israel Times, the warning further said Israelis should postpone travel to the rest of the country. They are also urged to hide signs that indicate they are Israelis and avoid gathering in large numbers. 

The warning comes after the US Embassy in Sri Lanka today issued a travel advisory to its citizens, stating that it has received credible information warning of an attack targeting popular tourist locations in the Arugam Bay area.

Issuing a clarification on the travel advisory, Police Spokesman Nihal Thalduwa said that the surge in Israeli tourists and the occupation of a building in the Arugam Bay area has prompted the US Embassy in Colombo to issue an advisory. 

Addressing the media today, Police Spokesman DIG Nihal Thalduwa said that Arugam Bay and Pottuvil have been identified as the most preferred holiday destinations in Sri Lanka for Israeli tourists, due to activities such as surfing.

“Due to their interest in surfing a lot of Israeli tourists have visited Arugam Bay and as a result have also occupied a building in the area. As the area is currently highly populated with Israeli tourists, we had received information in the recent past on possible threats to them,” he said. 

DIG Thalduwa confirmed that special security measures are currently in place in Arugam Bay, with the involvement of the Police, Special Task Force (STF), Navy, Army, and State Intelligence Services (SIS). 

Following the travel advisory issued by the US, several more countries, including the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, and Russia, had also updated their travel advisory related to Sri Lanka. (Newswire)

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The US Embassy in Colombo has issued a travel warning for American citizens, advising against travel to Arugam Bay in Sri Lanka due to a credible threat.

According to the travel advisory, the US Embassy says it has received credible information warning of an attack targeting popular tourist locations in the Arugam Bay area.

Details of the US Embassy travel advisory is as follows;

Location: Sri Lanka

Event: The Embassy received credible information warning of an attack targeting popular tourist locations in the Arugam Bay area. Due to the serious risk posed by this threat, the Embassy imposed a travel restriction on Embassy personnel for Arugam Bay effective immediately and until further notice.

U.S. citizens are strongly urged to avoid the Arugam Bay area until further notice.

Actions to Take:

• Report all suspicious activity and emergencies to local authorities (119).
• Always maintain vigilance and be aware of your surroundings. Trust your gut, if a situation doesn’t feel right, get out of it.
• Always have some form of communication on you (i.e. cell phone).
• Monitor local media for news and updates. (Newswire)

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The Government of Sri Lanka has issued a travel advisory to Lebanon, urging Sri Lankans to exercise caution.

Issuing the travel advisory, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry advised Sri Lankans to refrain from travelling to Lebanon over the next few days.

Minister Sabry further advised Sri Lankans to only visit Lebanon for essential travel.

The travel advisory has been issued due to the emerging situation in the Middle East, following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. (Newswire)

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Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry has briefed the Colombo-based diplomatic corps on current developments in Sri Lanka. 

Minister of State of Foreign Affairs Tharaka Balasuriya, Chief of Staff to the President Sagala Ratnayaka and Foreign Secretary Aruni Wijewardane participated in the meeting held yesterday (10).

Opening the meeting, the Minister thanked the international community for the support extended to Sri Lanka towards economic recovery and briefed on progress made in this regard. 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, that the minister also requested countries to review their travel advisories to reflect the stability in the country which would further encourage tourist influx.

The Minister also highlighted initiatives taken by the government for reconciliation including the convening of the All-Party Conference by the President in December 2022 and January 2023 and the appointment of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Reconciliation chaired by the President. He also briefed on the government’s position on the 13th Amendment and the proposed counter-terrorism legislation. He provided an update on ongoing efforts to set up a Truth and Reconciliation mechanism and thanked the Government of South Africa for facilitating a working visit in March to study the country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

President’s Chief of Staff Sagala Ratnayaka briefed on developments related to the government’s structural reform process in the context of IMF, World Bank and ADB programmes, and highlighted the measures taken, inter alia, towards debt sustainability, fiscal oversight, social protection for the vulnerable segments, good governance and addressing corruption.

Foreign Secretary Wijewardane outlined Sri Lanka’s continued engagement with the UN mechanisms including Sri Lanka’s recent participation in the 4th Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), the 6th Periodic Review under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the 52nd Session of the Human Rights Council (HRC). She added that Sri Lanka also submitted its 9th Periodic Report to the Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in April 2022 and has started the consultation process among relevant stakeholders.

The Foreign Secretary also highlighted the government’s initiatives to proactively engage with Sri Lankans overseas including through the recently established Office for Overseas Sri Lankans Affairs.

Following the briefing members of the diplomatic corps engaged in a discussion on several pertinent issues, including investment promotion, reconciliation, good governance, and anti-corruption. They also thanked Minister Sabry for providing regular briefings to the diplomatic corps on relevant developments in Sri Lanka. (NewsWire)

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The New Zealand High Commission has refuted a local print media report claiming that its travel advisory to Sri Lanka has been changed and its citizens were warned against travelling to the island. 

The New Zealand High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Michael Appleton in a thread of Twitter messages said that the reports were false. 

Issuing a clarification, Appleton said that New Zealand has not issued a travel advisory advising Kiwis against travelling to Sri Lanka.

“We have two types of travel advisory that advise New Zealanders against going to a particular country or region: “do not travel” and “avoid non-essential travel”. There are well over 50 countries that currently have these sorts of New Zealand travel advisories. Sri Lanka is not one of them,” he revealed.

Michael Appleton further said Sri Lanka is in a much bigger group of countries, which include the likes of Singapore, Australia and Japan, where we advise New Zealanders to “exercise increased caution”.

He pointed out that the media report also erroneously claims that the travel advice for Sri Lanka has recently been “tightened” (the advice level has remained the same for months) and that changes to the language in the travel advice were related to Independence Day, which was not the case.

Appleton clarified that “One reason it is important to correct these inaccuracies is that New Zealand recognises how important international tourism is to Sri Lanka’s economic recovery. As a partner and friend of Sri Lanka, seeking to help where we can with tackling the economic crisis, the New Zealand High Commission in Colombo welcomes Kiwi tourists here – and encourages them to read our travel advice as part of their preparation before they get here.” (NewsWire)

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