Sri Lanka on course to achieve tourist target

By Shirajiv SIRIMANE

Sri Lanka has already recorded an all time high in tourist arrival figures and the target of attracting 2.5 million tourists by 2016 is now turning into reality.

The New York Times has said that Sri Lanka is the best destination to visit this year. Several other global accolades of this nature have come Sri Lanka's way as soon as the 30 years of terrorism was ended with the humanitarian operation two years ago.

One of the much hyped events that took place last week was the Tourism Day celebrations held on a grand scale in Colombo with the participation of all stakeholders related to the travel and tourism industry.

The main event, 'Road to Paradise' took place at the tourism zone near the Beira Lake. Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa participated as the chief guest, along with Deputy Minister for Economic Development Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena and Minister for Youth Affairs and Skills Development Dullas Alahapperuma.

The Beira Lake area has been named the 'Road to Paradise Tourism Zone'. This is also the first time that World Tourism Day was celebrated in other parts of the island. Around 2,000 school- children took part in the main function along with the heads of leading public and private sector travel entities.

As part of this exercise, a one kilometre-long painting titled 'Colombo Wall' will showcase the Colombo City as it would be in 10 years through the eyes of the children. Ten stamps and picture postcards were released at the ceremony, covering this year's promotional themes of Sri Lanka tourism including pristine, heritage, bliss, wild, scenic, thrills, festive and essence.

Ten stamps issued

President Mahinda Rajapaksa inspecting the one km painting at the Gangarama

Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa, Deputy Minister for Economic Development Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena and Minister for Youth Affairs and Skills Development Dullas Alahapperuma at the event

The stamps bear the value of rupees five and 10. The first set was handed over to Minister Rajapaksa at the event.

"As Sri Lankans, it is an immense pleasure for us to join with the international community around the world today to celebrate World Tourism Day.

"The contribution of the tourism sector to the rapid economic development of the country is indeed very remarkable at this stage.

"During this year, Sri Lanka Tourism is targeting 800,000 tourists to the country and expect to generate a revenue of over one billion US dollars through the travel and tourism trade before the end of 2012.

"We look forward to seeing a rapid growth in the tourism industry in Sri Lanka in the future years, making it a major contributor to the country's economic development," Deputy Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said.

A special food fiesta and evening entertainment took place with the participation of the Colombo Hoteliers Association. A variety of food items from different cultures was prepared and served for the public during this festival, highlighting the theme of cultural links. Apart from these, a special vocational training program was held for schoolchildren, to educate them on the tourism industry. The World Tourism Day program concluded with a cultural show on September 28.

The World Tourism Day is held every September 27 to foster awareness among the international community about the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic value. This year, it is highlighting tourism's role in bringing the cultures of the world together and promoting global understanding through travel.

This is the first time that Sri Lanka issued more than four stamps on a single occasion to commemorate an event. This year's theme for the World Tourism Day, 'Tourism linking Cultures' as stated by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), mainly focuses on fostering awareness among the international community of the value of tourism and its cultural impact and to gain experience in understanding cultural diversity, said President Tourist Hotels Association, Anura Lokuhetty.

Different backgrounds

Meanwhile, the UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai, issuing a message on the World Tourism Day, has said that thanks to tourism, millions of people from different cultures are being brought together around the world like never before, and this interaction between people of different backgrounds and ways of life represents an enormous opportunity to advance tolerance, respect and mutual understanding.

Meanwhile, Cinnamon Grand Colombo became the first hotel in this era to celebrate the country's heritage with the launch of a stamp and first day cover depicting its Nuga Gama, to commemorate World Tourism Day.

The first day cover of this stamp was presented to chief guest, Minister of Economic Development, Basil Rajapaksa by General Manager of Cinnamon Grand, Rohan Karr, amidst a gathering that included the Chairman of John Keells Holdings, Susantha Ratnayake, Deputy Chairman of John Keells Holdings, Ajit Gunawardena, Country Director Asian Development Bank, Rita O'Sullivan, Representative of World Health Organisation, P.P. Singh and Canadian High Commissioner, Bruce Levy, British High Commissioner, John Rankin, Italian Ambassador, Fabrizio Pio Artea and South African High Commissioner, G.Q. Doidge.