Plans put in place to cater to influx of tourists

by Uditha Kumarasinghe

The number of tourist arrivals was 693,772 during the first nine months of this year, bringing in an income of nearly Rs.91,600 million for the tourist industry.

According to the Performance Report 2012 issued by the Economic Development Ministry, all activities in the tourism sector are planned with a target of 2.5 million tourists by 2016.

Accordingly, strategies, programs and projects in the field of tourism are in operation under the three main categories of tourist facility development, tourism promotion and human resources development for the tourism industry.

The target of tourist arrivals set for 2012 was one million. However, development activities are required to attract high spending tourists which is more important than a numerical increase.

With the objective of providing lodging facilities to realise the target of 2.5 million tourists in 2016, action is being taken to increase the volume of facilities, with special emphasis on the development of environmentally friendly tourist zones such as Kalpitiya, Passikudah, Kuchchaveli and Dedduwa which are much sought-after destinations for high-spending tourists.

A special program is also under way for tourism promotion activities in countries such as China, Korea, Russia, India, Japan and the Middle East, introducing new markets in addition to maintaining traditional tourist markets. World renowned airlines such as China Eastern, Fin Air, Spice Jet and Aeroflot have commenced direct air travel services to Sri Lanka, the report said.

Under the Community Development Program, tourist maps have been compiled for Gampaha, Matale, Anuradhapua and Nuwara Eliya districts. The Ministry has also launched a Sustainable Tourism Development Project to provide facilities under a Balanced Provision Scheme for tourism-related eco and socio-friendly investments by small and medium-scale entrepreneurs and improvements thereof. The SLTDA has taken steps to issue a manual on the standardisation of rest houses and to streamline the services.