People set to visit Sri Lanka at the end of this month with TUI have been left disappointed after the operator cancelled holidays to the destination.
The cancellations come as the Foreign Office updated its advice warning Brits not to visit the South Asia country unless it's absolutely necessary.
The island, as reported by the Mirror, has been facing an economic crisis with shortages of medicine, fuel and food. In addition to this, they have been experiencing daily power cuts due to electricity rationing.
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As a result, protests have been taking place since the end of March with a State of Emergency and nationwide curfew were put in place at the start of May.
The Foreign Office warns that "several incidents took place on May 9 involving violence against peaceful protesters" including areas in Colombo and Kandy, and that "further incidents could take place".
Due to the ongoing unrest and advice by the Foreign Office, all but essential travel to Sri Lanka will be cancelled by TUI until May 31 with the travel giant set to contact customers in "departure date order".
A statement issued on the travel giant's website explains: "Due to the ongoing political and economic instability in Sri Lanka, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) have advised against all but essential travel.
"As a result, we’ve unfortunately had to cancel all holidays to Sri Lanka departing up to and including 31 May 2022.
"We will be proactively contacting all impacted customers in departure date order to discuss their options.
"Please note this advice does not apply to customers transiting through Sri Lanka’s international airport and customers currently in resort can continue to enjoy their holiday as planned.
"We will continue to monitor the situation and update customers should there be any further updates. We would like to thank our customers for their understanding at this time."
Typically when the Foreign Office advises against travel, firms offer options such as rebooking to a different date or opting for the same dates but an alternative destination.
When a company cancels your holiday, you are also entitled to a refund, if this is the option you would prefer.
It's worth noting that if you choose to travel against Foreign Office advice, your travel insurance will be void meaning.
