Sri Lanka: the show-piece of Asia
Dr Mathu H. Liyanage
The seeds of peace, tranquillity and prosperity sown in the Northern and Eastern provinces after the gallant and conclusive defeat of terrorism on November 6, 2009 by President Mahinda Rajapaksa have grown up robustly, and the blooming, elegant flowers of different hues are spreading their enthralling sweet-scent over the blue skies of the country but also the foreign countries, drawing over 800,000 visitors to the Island in 2011. It is predicted that 2.5 million visitors will visit Sri Lanka by 2016.
The pot-holed Highway, connecting the North and the South, which was devastatingly damaged, blocked by the terrorists, and was in a state of disrepair has now been repaired and open to public vehicles. It has boosted the influx of local tourists to Jaffna and Trincomale and vice versa, as never seen before. The cultural tours now taking place between the former land-locked North and the South has, and will, undoubtedly, help the reconciliation process to reach unprecedented heights.
It was indeed a delight to see that the popular and widely accepted British travel magazine “Conde Nast Traveller” has nominated Sri Lanka as one of the top five destinations to watch in 2012, placing Sri Lanka third ahead of Britain, Australia and Abu-Dhabi.
To make the situation even brighter and more colourful, Sri Lanka’s Pushpika Sandamali de Silva has won the Best National Costume Award at the Miss Tourism Queen International 2011 beauty pageant held in Beijing, China from December 13 – 29.
To attract more visitors to the Island, the government had introduced an online system of processing visa applications at the end of 2011 and, during the first ten hours if its introduction, 839 visitors were able to obtain visas online, bringing the total arrivals to 1,252 and realizing Rs 1.5 million as revenue. It has proved to be a tremendous boost to tourism and to the economy.
According to the Immigration and Emigration Department, about 15,000 online visa applications have already been received from overseas visitors.
The peace and tranquillity now prevalent in the country; the neck-breaking lofty dagabas and viharas in Anuradhapura such as the Ruwanweli seya (one of the world’s tallest monuments standing at 300 feet (91m) with a circumference of 950 feet (290m); the breath-taking statues carved out of rocks - the Isurumuniya lovers in Anuradhapura - and the statue of the 39-foot (12-m) standing Buddha at the Aukana Temple; the mind-soothing waterfalls scattered throughout the hilly districts; the look-alike carpets of vast stretches of tea plantations in Kandy and Nuwara Eliya regions; long stretches of sandy beaches in the South and North East, providing excellent facilities for water sports and games; and the world-famous historical places like the Kandy Dalada Maligawa (the Temple of the Tooth Relic), Sri Pada (Adam’s Peak) and Kataragama Hindu Kovil will keep the visitors enthralled, and this may induce them not to look beyond Sri Lanka to spend their holidays. The pageants held in Kandy and Kataragama, and the trek to Sri Pada during the seasons will keep them spellbound if the tourists’ visits coincide with them.
The Yala National Park and the Wilpattu Sanctuary, teeming with herds of wild elephants, deer and other species, besides flocks of exotic birds, will provide any visitor with excitement and joy they are looking for.
Not only has Sri Lanka made vast strides in tourism but it has also set the stage to transform its long held tag “Jewel of the Indian Ocean” into “Wonder of Asia,” according to the prestigious Gulf publication, Khaleej Times of December 24.
A note prepared by Gareth Leather, Asia Economist at Capital Economics, which has offices and research centres in Singapore, Toronto and London, and distributed to investors says, “Capital Economics expects the Sri Lankan economy to grow eight per cent in 2012, making it the fastest growing economy in emerging Asia after China.”
(Source: Daily Mirror – 26th October, 2010)