Lanka named among six best
National Geographic Traveler magazine has named Sri Lanka among its
top six destinations for world travelers in 2012, lauding the island
nation’s heritage sites, wildlife, lush landscapes and pristine beaches.
Sri Lanka, Traveler writes in its November/December issue, means
resplendent isle, and the natural charms of this pear-shaped island in
the Indian Ocean that nearly kisses the southeast tip of India are
indeed splendid.
Sri Lanka’s hill country features stunning scenery, tea plantations,
and ancient Buddhist temples. Nat Geographic
Traveler magazine also mentions Sri Lanka’s many heritage sites and
its colonial history: The Portuguese and the Dutch once waged proxy wars
here; by 1802 the island was a British colony.
And it notes the successful conclusion of the most recent conflict,
against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which ended with the
terrorist group’s defeat in 2009, opening the door to increased tourism.
Today peace prevails, Traveler reported.
Sri Lanka tourism has grown impressively, with a 52 percent increase
in 2010 compared to 2009. An even larger increase is expected for all of
2011.
With those increases, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority has
outlined a plan to reach a 30,000 hotel-room capacity by 2015, when the
total number of annual tourists is expected to reach 2.5 million.
Special focus has also been put on increasing the level of service in
tourist-related industries.
Recently, top hotel chains such as Starwood (Sheraton), Marriott,
Shangri La and Taj have announced plans for new construction in Sri
Lanka. A number of existing hotels are also undergoing renovation. Sri
Lanka offers visitors a wide variety of unique venues, from broad white
beaches to mountain vistas, wildlife parks teeming with elephants,
leopards and more, rolling tea plantations, spas, adventure tourism,
surfing and ancient UNESCO World Heritage sites. As such, Sri Lanka has
received a number of favorable travel reviews since 2010, beginning that
year with a New York Times ranking as the number one place to visit.
National Geographic also included Sri Lanka on its top trips in 2010,
and several popular travel websites, have also raved about Sri Lanka. |