A worthy handbook of Information :

Travel Lanka - small in size and large in information

As Tourism keeps expanding rapidly and arrivals fast approach the two million figure this year - the arrivals till end July 2016 was 1,173,618 very close to the total of 1,798,918 in 2015 - the demand for good tour planning becomes a matter of increased importance. The need to know about what to see, things to do, access to the traditional and exploratory sights and events, good shopping opportunities, and the best of relaxationkeeps growing, placing a big demand for good Tourist Information.

The proper supply of this to the visitors to Sri Lanka and the Tourism Industry remains the highly commendable task of 'Travel Lanka' - aptly described as the 'Comprehensive monthly guide to travelers in Sri Lanka' - which just completes 23 years of publication.

Reaching this number of years of uninterrupted publication, is truly laudable when one recalls the near decade of major crisis the Tourism Industry faced, when visitor arrivals kept dropping, many hotels and other accommodation facilities closed down, tourism entertainment was highly restricted, and almost all of our major tourist sources, especially in the West, issued travels warnings and cautions about visiting Sri Lanka, due the terrorist war that was taking a huge toll in human lives and economic damage in the country.

Some of the major hotels and other tourist facilities managed to survive that period due to Government assistance, by way of non-taxation and relaxation of much revenue earning means to help the industry survive a period of major crisis. "Travel Lanka" the work of Pace Publishers, had the outstanding and exemplary record of continuing to serve the visitors to Sri Lanka, Tourism planning institutions of the State, and the Tourism Industry, with no such concessions whatever and amidst an ever declining advertising due to the fall in visitor arrivals.

It was the one publication of Visitor Information that was available to tourists at the Bandaranaike International Airport, the Travel Information Centres of the Sri Lanka Tourism Bureau, at the hotels and guest houses that remained in business, and at bookshops, too. Despite the crisis, leading to travel and other restrictions in the country, 'Travel Lanka' - kept the visitor fully informed of the facilities for visitors, cultural events, the ancient cities, entertainment and sports opportunities, hotels and restaurants, shopping, guest houses, and all other facilities sought for by visitors, enabling them and the Tourism Industry to plan travel to give the best results. 'Travel Lanka' thus helped keep alive Sri Lanka's image as a good tourist attraction at a time when most other signals were against such an image.

As it completes the 23rd year of continued publication, 'Travel Lanka' is encouragingly widening its own scope of Tourist Information, covering the rapid expansion of the industry, the many hotels that have been established, the massive increase in Guest House and other visitor accommodation, the new sports and relaxation facilities both on land, water, at sea, and the sky too, as well as the wider exploration of the ancient cities, deeper inroads to wildlife, the forests and mountains, and new areas of interest such as ancient cave paintings in the country.

On reading a recent issue of "Travel Lanka" one is certainly impressed by the detailed maps of areas of importance to Tourists, the examples of tours which comprise a good support to travel planning, the mentioning of future events ofimportance to visitors, and the well-edited articles in each issue on special attractions, urban, rural and far beyond.

It is now also a publication that is well linked to the digital age, helping those abroad who reach its site on the Internet to plan their travel before arriving in Sri Lanka, as well as providing the facilities of a Travel Agent, making the tasks of the visitor much easier.

"Travel Lanka" remains the proud work of Piyaratne Hewabattage, a prize winning artist with many international awards for his work, and a deep knowledge of Tourism, as the first Production Officer of the initial Sri Lanka Tourist Board, responsible for the design and artistry of the many Tourism brochures, booklets, annual diaries, posters and post cards, that saw the encouraging launch of the Tourism Industry in the 1970.They won the praise of the Pacific Area Travel Association (PATA) and many other international tourism organizations interested in Sri Lanka's arrival and rapid rise in the Asian Tourism Market.

He has all reason to be proud of this handbook of Tourist Information, handy, small in size and large in information, which moves on with the rise in the Tourism Industry today, to meet future demands with expertise and experience.

- Lucien Rajakarunanayake