The American Embassy announced last week that it has withdrawn the travel warning for Sri Lanka which it issued following the attack on the airport at Katunayake in July of this year. The warning had advised all Americans to defer non-essential travel to Sri Lanka.

A milder public notice remains in place advising Americans to be alert to the risk of violence and mass demonstrations in the run-up to the December 5 election and immediate aftermath.

American Ambassador Ashley Wills said, "The American Government did not issue the travel warning lightly and did not lightly withdraw it. We believe that security conditions in Sri Lanka have sufficiently improved that Americans can travel here freely, so long as they take sensible precautions. We know that this warning may have caused some negative effect on tourism in Sri Lanka. If withdrawing the warning gives a boost to tourism, that would please us very much."