Berlin, 12th March, 2010: Among the other South Asian countries vying for tourism growth this year, Sri Lanka is trying its best to woo the world.The end of Sri Lanka’s long-running civil war has injected fresh life into its tourism industry‚ bringing rising confidence and ambitious promotions.
This year, the island has launched Visit Sri Lanka 2011, described as the biggest tourism venture in its history. It will help to capitalise on the opening up of Sri Lanka’s northern and eastern areas, which were previously ruled out of bounds to visitors because of the civil strife.
The government wants to attract $4.5 billion in investment to improve the infrastructure of these regions and hopes this will turn Sri Lanka into a year-round destination. More money is also being spent on promotions to attract 700,000 tourists in 2011 and 2.5 million by 2016.
“The whole world has its eye on Sri Lanka‚” said minister of tourism Achala Jagoda.
