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| Wednesday, 17 November 2004 |
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by Ranil Wijayapala and Anjana Gamage With the guns falling silent and the near two year calm in its wake, Trincomalee has turned into a veritable tourist hub with both local and foreign visitors flocking to this Eastern capital in their multitudes to savour the multifaceted delights on offer at the idyllic tourist haven. Trincomalee which at one time was the epicentre of the separatist war whose landscape was pockmarked with the ravages of gunbattles is today witnessing a massive transformation. The calm and tranquility witnessed during the last two years has turned Trincomalee which at one time was always in the news for its gory battle field encounters, has during the past few months grabbed news headlines of a wholly different kind - its tourism boom. The Manager of the Club Oceanic, in Uppuveli, Trincomalee Prem Kumar told the Daily News that tourists in large numbers were arriving in Trincomalee despite this being the off season. Confirming his statement, the Club Oceanic hotel itself was proof of the burgeoning tourism in Trincomalee with a large number of foreigners frolicking on the picturesque beaches adjoining the hotel. Kumar said the prevailing peaceful environment in the area has boosted the tourism industry in Trincomalee and that the area was brimming with the latest arrivals. "Despite this not being the season, tourists are arriving here as they are fond of the beaches here in Trincomalee", Prem Kumar added. He said a large number of locals too were also booking hotel rooms for the coming school vacation. He said the hotel management was planning for the next season as they expected a two fold increase in the tourist arrivals next year. "We will come up with new packages to attract more tourists to Trincomalee ", he added. Largely helped by the tranquillity following the ceasefire tourism had picked up rapidly on the East coast, Director General of Sri Lanka Tourist Board (SLTB), S. Kalaiselvam told the " Daily News" yesterday. Trincomalee, Nilaveli, Passikudha and Arugam Bay are the main four tourist areas that dominate the East-coast. "Although presently the rainy season is on, this has not affected the tourist arrivals in the East. Tourists are coming in large numbers and registering at reputed hotels and guest houses on the Eastern coast," he said. According to Tourist Board officials there is a heavy traffic of Australian and New Zealand tourists to Trincomalee. SLTB sources confirmed that 100 foreigners participated at one of the Wind Surfing Competitions conducted in August by the SLTB in Trincomalee. The newly unveiled tourism plan for 2005 is targeting tourism to emerge as the nation's top foreign exchange earner and anticipates one million tourist arrivals in 2010 as well as the average spending per tourist reaching US$ 155. Under the new development plan, 500 more acres at Arugam Bay will be developed for tourism and two more new hotels will be set up under the development of Passekudah Resort Project as well. The current hotel schools in Trincomalee and Jaffna will be developed into fully fledged hotel schools to overcome the challenges. |
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