Sri Lankan News

Over half-a-million tourists are expected to visit Sri Lanka this year as the travel trade bounces back strongly from the effects of a war. Hotels are so heavily booked that some are even refusing new reservations till end of March, the Tourism Promotion Bureau revealed.

Tourism authorities have planned an aggressive global promotion campaign to lure visitors with events like night surfing and also attempts to tap the Sri Lankan Diaspora to spread the word about the island’s attractions.

With tourist arrivals up 31.9 percent in January alone from a year ago, the authorities expect the total number of visitors this year to increase by 25 – 30 percent given post-war revivals elsewhere.

There was an immediate increase in tourist arrivals with the end of the war. The revival has prompted international agencies to offer help to modernize tourism infrastructure. Japan International Corporation Agency has offered 20 million US dollars to improve infrastructure in five towns that tourists frequently visit. They are Anuradhapura, Sigiriya, Nuwara Eliya, Kandy, and Negombo. The World Bank is providing 18 million dollars ‘capacity building’ in tourism-related programs. Officials said that almost all hotels were running at 99-100 percent occupancy rates during the main winter season in the last three or four months and forward bookings are encouraging.

The Tourism Promotion Bureau is promoting the country under its ‘Visit Sri Lanka 2011′ campaign highlighting the beaches, ruined cities, hilly resorts and wildlife parts that can all be experienced on the island in a short time.

The marketing campaign includes international promotions on leading TV stations such as CNN and BBC.