Cyclone Ditwa: A storm Sri Lanka saw coming but tourism still paid the price

CYCLONE Ditwa swept across Sri Lanka last ‘week leaving behind devastation the country has not seen in years—over a hundred lives lost, thousands displaced, homes submerged, and key roads cutoff. Families have been torn apart and livelihoods destroyed. Before anything else, it is important to acknowledge this human tragedy with empathy and humility.

- By Stefan Furkan

My focus here, however, is on another dimension of the fallout: the impact on Sri Lanka’s ‘tourism sector, an industry that was only just regaining its footing after a decade of shocks. This is not to sound callous or detached from the suffering our own people have endured. Rather it stems from concern that unless we handle this moment honestly and professionally, the momentum the industry fought so hard to rebuild may waver once again.

A decade of setbacks—and a fragile recovery interrupted

Before Ditwa struck, Sri Lanka’s tourism industry was experiencing genuine recovery. It had survived the political crisis of 2018, the Easter attacks of 2019, the pandemic, the Aragalaya, the fuel queues, power cuts, and the economic collapse of 2022. For the first time in years, arrivals were up; October recorded an all-time high for that month, and forward winter bookings from India, the UK, and Europe were encouraging. Hotels were cautiously optimistic. There was a sense—fragile but real—that Sri Lanka was finally back on travellers’ radar.

Ditwa hit precisely at that moment.

A natural disaster—but also a messaging crisis

Sri Lanka cannot control cyclones. But we can—and must—control how we prepare, react, and communicate.

What unsettled many in the trade was that Sri Lanka had several days of clear forewarning—yet still appeared caught off guard. In an earlier editorial I stressed the importance of readiness, not just response. For foreign governments, insurers and tour operators, what matters is whether a destination demonstrates coordination when a crisis is coming. That perception directly affects advisories, group bookings, and long-term confidence. Ditwa highlighted gaps we cannot ignore.