Sri Lanka is coming back, tourism doors are open: Ambassador to Saudi Arabia

Riyadh: The Sri Lankan ambassador to Saudi Arabia P.M. Amza said that Sri Lanka is on the road to recovery after overcoming the crises and on this occasion, the people of the friendly countries are invited to enjoy the tourism features of their country.

He was speaking at a media and travel agents session organised by the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Riyadh in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority to introduce Sri Lankan tourism in the context of the country's recovery after the financial crisis.

Sri Lanka, the pearl of the Indian Ocean and one of the top ten tourist destinations, is regaining its past glory in the tourism industry to the pre-covid level. The Island nation has suffered more than its fair share of issues over the last few years. The pandemic, the Russian-Ukraine war, and the economic crisis of 2022 heavily contributed to barring tourists from coming to the country. However, with the support of pragmatic economic policies from the government, stability has returned in the country and tourism also began to boom.

Sri Lanka, with its richness in culture, environment, biodiversity, cuisine, and landscape has a lot to offer to the globe. Even though it is a small island, it contains a continent's worth of attractions including eight World Heritage sites, Ceylon tea highlands, the cultural triangle, and the best wildlife park outside Africa with leopards, elephants, bears, and whales. Tropical pristine sandy beaches, surfing, and blue sapphire which have adorned the crowns of royalty for centuries also could be witnessed in the country.

There are many reasons for you to put Sri Lanka on your travel bucket. Stunning scenery with the beautiful landscape varied from city to coast and farmland to mountains, tea gardens, and coconut farms. Eco-friendly hotels where Sustainable tourism strictly adheres at every level with discounted rates. Fabulous food with modern spice. Sri Lankan cuisine is world-renowned and it is simply amazing. Nature and wildlife with the highest biodiversity per unit area among Asian countries for flowering plants and vertebrates. Sri Lanka has four untapped biosphere reserves. These are perhaps the reasons why the ancient Arabs called Sri Lanka “Serendip” which was later coined in the English language as serendipity.

“As the country is back on the track to receive international tourists, we invite you to visit the world’s finest island for memorable, authentic, and diverse experiences and where you can witness high-value destinations which offer extraordinary experiences that reflect Sri Lanka’s natural and cultural heritage,” Ambassador added.

Many media organizations and travel agents took part in the event. On this occasion Minister/Head of Chancery N.M.M. Anas and Minister Sanjeewa Pattiwila also participated in the presidium.