Boost for environment-friendly tourism
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Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa presents
tractors and trailers to Chairman Bentota Pradeshiya Sabha,
Gayan Sirimanne and Secretary, Valachchenai Pradeshiya Sabha, N.
Siyabdeen. Child Development and Women’s Affairs Deputy Minister
M.L.A.M. Hizbullah, Resettlement Deputy Minister Vinayagamurthi
Muralidaran, SLFP Organiser Bentara-Elpitiya Geetha Kumarasinghe,
SLTDA Chairman Bhashwara Gunawardena and Director SLTDA Domestic
Tourism Resorts, Mihira Liyanarachi participated in the
ceremony.
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Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa launched a program to
provide Pradeshiya Sabhas with infrastructure facilities for garbage
disposal in areas marked for tourism development. The objective of the
program is to create environment-friendly tourism regions in the
country.
Sri Lanka has six tourism regions - Bentota, Kalpitiya, Pasikudah in
Batticaloa, Kuchchuweli in Trincomalee, Vakarai and Yala. The Sri Lanka
Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) has modernised tourism regions in
the North and the East to make them more attractive to visitors, under
the guidance of Minister Rajapaksa after the end of terrorism.
Sri Lanka's first environmental tourism region was begun in a
700-acre area in Bentota in 1970. It comprised seven hotels with 630
rooms. The second tourism region was started in Kalpitiya comprising 14
islets with an extent of 4,000 acres.
The Pasikudah tourism region, Batticaloa began in 2009 comprising 14
hotels with 930 rooms on a 156-acre area. The Kuchchuweli tourism
region, Trincomalee covers 590 acres. The extent of the Vakarai tourism
region is 73 acres. The Tourism Development Authority undertook the
well-planned development of these areas under Minister Rajapaksa's
guidance.
The number of tourist arrivals to the island is rapidly increasing
and many programs catering to their needs have been launched under
infrastructure development. The SLTDA will provide tourism regions with
beach cleaning equipment, diving equipment and life-saving equipment as
well as provide training in life-saving. The SLDTA has also taken steps
to build tourism shopping centres in Bentota, Beruwala, Hikkaduwa,
Kalutara, Negombo and Pasikudah under the Minister's guidance. |
