Since tourists have started coming back to Sri Lanka, we have received more bookings as the weeks have gone on. This has meant we can restart the project in full force once again.
We have been extremely lucky during the Covid period that for most of it we have been able to keep Mali free of charge, and with the money that was donated prior to lockdown restrictions being enforced. Now that income has started to roll in again, we have been able to keep paying Mali’s owner since the beginning of February, which we are extremely happy about.
Sri Lanka as a whole has been facing some harsh inflation recently, so there is a feeling of pressure in the air here. This inflation period coming just after an extremely difficult 2 years hasn’t made it any easier. However, this has started to lift as people start to see more tourists come to the country. The tourist industry will start to pick up again and will start to healthily contribute back to the Sri Lankan economy.
Since we started to launch up the project again, we have received quite a few bookings for day trips, and we have seen our social media picking up too. I believe the main focus for now will be on securing more companies for day trips and ensuring that the day trip facilities are perfect. So far, the reaction and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and we only hope this enacts some kind of butterfly effect.
Most importantly now we need consistent income, so that we can start to find more elephants to rent and give an amazing life to. We already have one that would be willing to come to us, but to do that we need to make sure we have that income. We only hope that this period sets off a chain reaction in the tourism sector that people start to actively search for more eco/ethical tourism activities.
Our hopes and dreams are still fresh in our minds, and we want to assure all our followers that, and that this period of extreme hardship hasn’t swayed our passion in any way. We really hope to show you all soon how our hard works has begun to pay off.
--Myszka--