Colombo: 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.
Many of those booked to come in the next few months have cancelled.
Hotel occupancy across the island has plummeted by 85% to 90% and beaches, restaurants and shops are empty. The coordinated suicide bombings not only destroyed lives but also wiped out the livelihoods of Sri Lankans who depend on tourism.
More than 250 people, including 45 foreigners mainly from China, India, the US and the UK, died in the Islamic State group (IS)-claimed blasts.
Some tourism officials say the damage to the industry from the bombings is worse than during Sri Lanka's 26-year civil war.
Tourists normally come to Hikkaduwa, in the southwest, for the strong waves that are perfect for surfing and sparkling clear waters made for snorkelling.
Today, of the 27 hotels, very few are open.
Most, along with the eateries that line the 6-kilometre (3.7-mile) stretch of palm-fringed beach, are closed.
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Lankesha Ponnamperuma, General Manager of hotel chain Hikka Tranz, is one of the luckier ones.
While most hotels report wholesale cancellations, he is surviving thanks to business from local residents.
According to government figures, there has been an 80% drop in arrivals since the attack.
Tourism accounts for 4.9% of Sri Lanka's GDP.
Last year, 2.3 million tourists visited the island, generating 4.4 billion US dollars in revenues, a nearly 12% jump from 2017.
Around half a million Sri Lankans directly depend on tourism while 2 million depend on it indirectly.
Anusha Frydman, Managing Director of the Lavanga Resort and Spa, noted that terrorism has not slowed tourism in countries like France and the UK and insists that "Sri Lanka is safe".
The industry is clear about what else it wants from the authorities: Ensure that stringent security measures are in place to reassure potential visitors; persuade politicians to put their differences aside and adopt a bipartisan approach on national security; and work fast to get the travel ban lifted.
To help the industry cope, the government has put together a relief package comprising easy loans at special rates and reduced taxes.
The government also plans to formulate a 100 million US dollars insurance fund for compensation to any tourist injured or for any tourist killed while visiting the island.
