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Sri Lanka clinched the prestigious title of Most Preferred Surf Spot in Asia at the annual Floating Asia Awards held at the Ceylon Continental hotel recently. In a bid to promote sports tourism in Sri Lanka, the founders of the Floating Asia annual publication forsee the potential of tapping into Sri Lanka’s sports resources and exposing tourists to a whole host of possibilities. Sri Lanka was picked from many countries in the South East Asia region to receive top honours in the best surf destination but we still have the power to make it big as a sports tourist destination because of the wonderful natural resources we offer. Speaking to the Sunday Observer magazine was Sameer Yoonus, the chairman of Floating Asia, who said, “Now that the war is over and peace has dawned in Sri Lanka, the government should relax its maritime rules and regulations to attract private boats and yacht owners to enjoy the bounties of our country.” He further added, “We hope that the Sri Lanka Tourism Board and Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau can work collectively in order to make the maximum use of our resources in a sustainable manner.”
The co-chairman of Floating Asia Ismail Hameed who is also the Secretary General of the Liveaboard Association of Maldives, said, “We are keen to forge partnerships and establish links with Sri Lanka to the South East Asian region because of the numerous possibilities to work together in the area of sports tourism. Where other countries benefit, we also like Sri Lanka to reap benefits with their bountiful resources keeping nature conservation in mind”. The other Floating Asia awards were handed over to Maldives for the Best Diving Point at Mantra Point and cruise boat Maldiviana for the Best Liveaboard. Siam Dive and Sail won the Best Travel Agent in the country of Thailand. The Floating Asia team even participated in the ADEX (Asian Dive Expo) in Singapore where they represented Sri Lanka by enlightening visitors about the wealth of water wildlife we have. In addition to understanding water life, Sri Lanka is more equipped to handle the sports tourism because of strict nature protection laws in place.
Hence, adapting to the water by swimming, diving and understanding water life would help us greatly. So as an island nation, it’s high time we wake up and swim against the high tide and open our floodgates to a whole new world!
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