1 / 12In this Friday, May 10, 2019, photo, a Sri Lankan walks past a souvenir shop in Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka was the Lonely Planet guide’s top travel destination for 2019, but since the Easter Sunday attacks on churches and luxury hotels, foreign tourists have fled. (AP)
2 / 12In this Friday, May 10, 2019, photo, a boy walks on a beach in Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka. Hikkaduwa, in the south west, used to be top tourist attraction before the blasts for the strong waves that were perfect for board-surfing and sparkling clear waters perfect for snorkeling. Today, of the 27 hotels, a very few are still open while most of others along with the eateries lining the six kilometer stretch of palm-fringed beach, are closed. (AP)
3 / 12In this Friday, May 10, 2019, photo, a street that is usually crowded with tourists is seen empty in Galle, Sri Lanka. More than 250 people, including 45 foreigners who are mostly from China, India, the US and the UK, died in the series of suicide bombings by Islamic State and its local affiliates in churches and hotels in the capital, Colombo, and across the country on April 21. (AP)
4 / 12In this Friday, May 10, 2019, photo, the 17th century built Dutch fort, which was a popular tourist site, stands empty in Galle, Sri Lanka. (AP)
5 / 12In this Friday, May 10, 2019, photo, a Sri Lankan reef safari boat operator stands on an empty beach in Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka. (AP)
6 / 12In this Friday, May 10, 2019, photo, lounge chairs lie on a deserted beach in Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka. (AP)
7 / 12In this Friday, May 10, 2019, photo, a Sri Lankan street painter looks at his mobile phone as locals stand along the 17th century Dutch built rampart of the Galle fort in Galle, Sri Lanka. (AP)
8 / 12In this Friday, May 10, 2019, photo, foreign tourists walk on the rampart of the 17th century built Dutch fort in Galle, Sri Lanka. (AP)
9 / 12In this Friday, May 10, 2019, photo, Jan Van Twest, the general manager of Fortress Resort and Spa, speaks to The Associated Press in Galle, Sri Lanka. “In the past we have had about many serious crises and we have recovered. I am quite positive we can do it again,” Twest said. According to the government’s tourism agency, the tourist arrival has shown a 80 percent decrease after the attack. (AP)
10 / 12In this Friday, May 10, 2019, photo, a Ukrainian woman and a child walk past glass bottom boats, used for watching coral reefs, on a beach in Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka. (AP)
11 / 12In this Friday, May 10, 2019 photo, a Russian man helps a woman with a snorkel mask in Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka.(AP)
12 / 12In this Friday, May 10, 2019, photo, hotel staff walk past an empty restaurant at a hotel in Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka. (AP)
