Sri Lanka's World Tourism Week 2009

The Inaugural Ceremony was held at Marine Drive, Bambalapitiya 28th September 2009

The World Tourism Day which falls on 27 September 2009 was celebrated in Sri Lanka with a host of activities at the Mount Lavinia Beach, South of Colombo and at the Marine Drive, Bambalapitiya, a suburb in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The area, numbered Colombo 4, spans about one and a half kilometres of the Galle Road in Colombo.

The inaugural ceremony was presided over by the Minister of Tourism, Nandana Gunatillake with the participation of industry stakeholders including hoteliers, officials of the Ministry of Tourism and Sri Lanka Tourism, as well as a number of tourists visiting the country.

With a focus on the Sri Lankan environment, a tree planting campaign was launched and the handing over of a garbage truck was held at the occasion. A wall painting competition and a kite competition also brought colour to the event.

A significant item in the day’s celebrations was the launch of the tourist friendly 3-wheelers, similar to Thailand's Tuk-Tuk, an initiative of Sri Lanka Tourism to introduce metered three wheel taxies with specified standards for the benefit of foreign tourists visiting Sri Lanka. Decorated with easily identifiable traditional drawings and motifs from Sri Lankan culture, 50 of these 3 wheelers were introduced to the Colombo area with plans to extend this facility to other areas of the country, in the near future.

The World Tourism Day was celebrated on 27 September 2009, with this year’s theme declared as, ‘Celebrating Diversity’. The Ministry of Tourism, along with Sri Lanka Tourism, under the guidance of the Minister of Tourism, Nandana Gunatillake has initiated a Tourism Week was celebrated from 27 September to 3 October 2009, in Kandy, Negombo, Hikkaduwa, Pasikuda, Beruwala, Mahiyanganaya, Sigiriya, Kurunegala, Polonnaruwa, and Weligama.

Furthermore, essay, art, and poster competitions are also being held for local school children, as well as awareness campaigns to inculcate tourist as well as environmentally friendly ideas among the future generation.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister of Tourism, Nandana Gunatillake, said, “We have initiated a tourism week for the first time in the history of Sri Lanka Tourism, to facilitate travel within the country for both local and foreign tourists alike, to develop specific tourism locations, and to ensure that all sectors of the public economically benefit from the tourism industry.”

The minister further added, "We are fortunate to receive the support of Provincial Councils, government institutions, school children, and many other rural organizations in organizing the tourism week, successfully".

Courtesy: Government Information Department

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The conflict between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, commonly known as “the Tamil Tigers”) ended in May 2009. Although the conflict is over, the LTTE are believed to retain some capability to mount terrorist attacks such as grenade or explosive device attacks and shootings. The Government has relaxed the State of Emergency, under which it has extensive anti-terrorism powers but there are still heightened levels of security (e.g. checkpoints, road blocks) throughout the country. You should exercise a high level of vigilance. The risk for the most part is one of being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. In order to minimise this, you should avoid military, government and paramilitary locations. Always carry formal photographic identification with you. Stop and show your ID when asked to do so. If you are detained, you should ask the authorities to contact the British High Commission.

Fatal attacks linked to the LTTE occurred throughout the country into 2009. Most attacks have been directed against Government and military targets though a number have been focussed on civilian targets such as crowded public places, public transport and market areas. Some of the most significant attacks included a suicide bomb at a political gathering in March 2009 and an air raid on military targets in Colombo in February 2009.

JeGraNet.com statement - 15 October 2008 - Quote from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office website: "There is a high threat from terrorism in Sri Lanka. Fatal attacks have become more frequent. They have occurred in Colombo and throughout Sri Lanka, including places frequented by expatriate and foreign travellers. Further attacks may occur at any time. There is an increasing risk of British nationals being caught up in an attack". As independent travellers we left Colombo after just 9 days into our planned 6 month stay as a result of a feeling of insecurity, however we are sure that 'package tour' travellers to tourist resorts will probably enjoy a worry free holiday.