Rapid growth in tourism

Three years after the end of 30 years of terrorism, Sri Lanka's tourism industry can look forward to the future with confidence. Boosting foreign and domestic tourism has been a major objective of Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa in accordance with the Mahinda Chinthana.

Earnings made by the industry grew by 22.1 percent this year over the first 10 months of 2011 along with remittances, according to Central Bank data. The earnings have grown to US$ 790.5 million for the 10 months ending October 2012. By the end of the year, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) headed by Chairman Bhashwara Gunaratne hopes to attract a total of one million tourists to the island. During the first 10 months of 2012, total tourist arrivals amounted to 774,151, up by 16 percent. Last year, the first 10 months saw a 34 percent increase over the corresponding period of 2010.

Earnings from both tourism and workers' remittances are expected to record high growth for the last quarter of 2012. For the first 10 months of the year, workers' remittances recorded a growth of 17.6 percent year-on-year or US$ 4.9 billion.

The Economic Development Ministry under the direction of Minister Rajapaksa is working together with the private sector on an ambitious program of doubling the hotel room capacity to 50,000 by 2016. The expected foreign direct investment is estimated at three billion US doallars.

The targeted 2.5 million tourists will increase industry earnings by over five times to US$ 2.75 billion by 2016. Minister Rajapaksa is confident it will result in tourism industry employment increasing twofold to 500,000.

The World Tourism Organisation estimates that tourism accounts for up to 10 percent of global gross domestic product, making it the world's biggest industry. Its potential to contribute significantly to economic growth and uplifting society as a whole is considerable.