Sri Lanka, Nov. 28 -- Colombo National Hospital, one of the finest state-run healthcare institutions in the country

With new COVID variants being detected, global travel is facing yet another setback. Nevertheless, tourism needs to thrive for island nations like ours to sustain themselves financially. Discouraging tourist arrivals will hamper economic stability. So far, only a few countries have imposed a total ban on tourism. There have also been numerous attempts to encourage medical tourism in certain countries. The solid evidence of COVID spread linked to winter in subtropics favours tourism in tropical destinations like ours.

In order to reclaim its place in the tourism spotlight, Sri Lanka requires much more than mere flyers and s...