Sri Lankan hotelier Roman Scott swung into crisis mode after the Easter Sunday attacks, driving across the island to make sure his employees and guests were safe.

"First you go through absolute shock and then you start quickly moving ... you have to close things down, assess the situation ... see what happened to your staff," he told CNBC on Friday.

Luckily, no harm came to them, though many did lose family in the western coastal city of Negombo where dozens died after suicide bombers targeted worshippers attending mass at St Sebastian's church.

"All of them have lost family ... sadly, we had funerals to deal with," Scott said.

Some 10 years on from Sri Lanka's three-decade long civil war, the country stands "terribly wounded," Dilhan Fernando, CEO of Sri Lankan tea company Dilmah, said in an e-mail. The island "experienced violence at a level of ferocity that we did not see even during the 30 year conflict," he said, adding that "everyone knows someone" who has been affected.

Sri Lankans and business owners like Fernando and Scott are now asking if the Easter Sunday attack was a one-off, or whether it is the start of a cycle of violence that could send an already shaky economy into a downward spiral.