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by Geoff Wijesinghe

Tourism, which has proved to be Sri Lanka's most resilient industry, is on the uproad once again. The hospitality industry has been worst hit by the ethnic problem. In 1982, for the first time, tourism topped the 400,000 arrivals mark, only to be hit by a tidal wave of communal violence in the south. Since then, the arrivals figure has fluctuated sharply due to terrorism-related incidents. Despite the several beatings, tourism had scaled a new peak of 410,000 arrivals in 1999 when soon after it was dealt a cruel and crippling blow.

But, it has fought back hard, going back on the ropes, absorbing the punches and returning to the center of the ring.

The current ceasefire has given tourism a big boost and it is hoped that this time around, it will be able to steer a clear course on calm seas, without having to experience the heavy turbulence, which had often sent it reeling when picking itself up during the last two decades.

The Tourist Board and the travel trade had to spend enormous sums on familiarization tours for the international media as tourism recovered after each of several disasters.

But, now, with the international community strongly supporting the present peace process, there is spontaneous publicity in the media, worldwide, for the Sri Lankan tourist industry.

The tourist industry meanwhile, has also revamped its strategies and introduced and actively promoted new facets such as eco-tourism and herbal therapy through a chain of healing spas.

The latest editions of the leading international newsmagazine "Time" and its sister, "Time Traveller" carry multipage colour spreads, giving highly positive editorial publicity worth millions of dollars to our hospitality industry.

"Time International" has a three-page spread of on-the-spot reports by Tessa Laughton. The central piece is captioned "Trincomalee starts earning its peace dividend - Where tourists feared to tread". Here are some extracts of the article:

"Trinco" in Sri Lanka's northeast was once one of the island nation's jewels, prized by holidaymakers for its miles of picture-perfect shores, fresh seafood and colonial ambience. But, when civil war erupted in 1983, the town's position on the front line frightened everyone away. The only winners were the elephants, which for two decades found themselves free to roam undisturbed and feed on the lush roadside grasses.

This year, Trincomalee has made a comeback. Since the February ceasefire between the Sinhalese-dominated government and the Tamil Tiger rebels, news of Trinco's untouched treasures has been travelling quickly.

A steady flow of cars and buses on the six-hour drive from Colombo now rumbles through the elephants' feeding grounds. The east coast and its legendary beaches are a paradise lost no longer." But, most tourists don't stop until they reach Nilaveli, a further nine kilometers north of Trincomalee, which boasts the kind of beaches advertisements are made of: pure white sand sloping gently into a clear, shallow ocean. And the best part? Even with the new arrivals, Nilaveli's acres of seashore mean there's hardly a soul in sight."

A separate column titled "Hotspot" is attractively displayed in a colour box with a photograph of the wreck of the World War Two" British aircraft carrier HMS Hermes which was hit by Japanese bombers in the Easter Raid in 1942. This piece, which describes the attack on the Hermes 60 years ago, moves on to the attractions of diving in the Trincomalee Harbour.

Here, Tessa Laughton states, "Until last year it was only possible to dive the east coast if you were accompanied by the Sri Lanka Navy. "You had to bring your own equipment and be a pretty confident diver," says Mick Smith, an Australian-born Colombo resident. "But, the wrecks are something special." Today, dive operations are springing up along the coast, and divers in the deep harbour are rewarded with a glimpse of infrequently visited iron skeletons. Always go with a registered guide or dive master familiar with the area; however, as in many places live ammunition still lies scattered on the seabed. War booty apart, diving in and around the pristine waters off Trinco yields untold other treasures. Manta rays and dolphins are regularly seen, while whales venture close to shore. All that, and not a dive bomber in sight."

Another column by the same writer has the spotlight on Polonnaruwa, along with a colour photograph captioned "Rock of Ages: Face of Peace". It goes on to give the details of the history of the ancient city. In a two-page colour spread, illustrated with three photographs, including a near full page of a palm being given a healing Ayurvedic massage, captioned "The Soft Touch," Kay Johnson gives an account of her treatment for migraine, which she says, "And for the record, I haven't had a migraine since I left."

The article, which is well written and compiled with a descriptive first person account of Ayurvedic treatment, sets a fine pace right from the beginning. "The doctor in the fuchsia sari leaned over her desk and took my hand like a fortune-teller. "Just as I thought," she murmured, feeling my pulse. "Too much kapha." She glanced at the symptoms on my chart - fatigue, irritably and the occasional blinding migraine - and scribbled a prescription. "Don't worry, we can help you." A day later, I was in treatment, lying flat on my back with a thick stream of heated oil drizzling onto my forehead. For 40 minutes two barefoot attendants poured a pungent green oil over my brow in a gentle back and forth motion. It might sound like slow torture, but the shirodhara oil treatment is deeply relaxing and said to cure migraines."

The tourist industry is on the up and up due to the prevailing peace, which it is fervently hoped, this time around will be long lasting, permanent.

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Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
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