Lanka prepares for rebirth of tourism industry - The Independent

Post-war Sri Lanka is preparing for a rapid growth in tourism numbers over the coming five years as the local industry gets back on its feet - and international visitors once again have faith in the security situation in the island nation, stated Britain’s The Independent newspaper in a report published Monday.

The newspaper reported that the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) this week predicted around 500,000 tourists would have headed to Sri Lanka by the end of this year while the government has announced plans to welcome 2.5 million visitors per year and to add a further 25,000 hotel rooms nation wide by 2016. “With an end to the war, Sri Lanka has now entered a period of peace and political stability and international visitors are responding with strong demand.

“Actual arrivals are well above the forecast for 2010 as at August,” quoting PATA, the Independent said.

It also said that The New York Times listed the country as number one in the “31 places to visit in’’ while National Geographic this year rated the destination as the second best island to visit in the world.

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa said, this week the country was expecting new highs for the tourism industry’, the newspaper further stated. He said he hoped also the expat Sri Lankans the world over would help spread the good news.

“This is an opportunity for expatriate Sri Lankans holding other citizenships, living overseas, to visit the island and bring along their friends from those countries. They will appreciate that they can visit the country without any fear for their safety and I invite them all to enjoy what Sri Lanka can offer,” he said.

The country is currently upgrading famous wildlife parks and zoos while building new hotels and recreation facilities, according to the Minister.

As well as more than 100 kilometers of coastline, rainforest and wildlife parks, Sri Lanka currently has eight UNESCO World Heritage sites, some of which were off-limits during its war, which lasted from 1983 until May last year, The Independent said.