Sri Lanka_ Branching out to various subcategories of tourism, in an effort to improve and stabilize Sri Lanka’s budding tourism trade, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTA) has assigned a committee to survey the potential of marine tourism on the island. This initiative was implemented as a part of the marine tourism master plan for 2024 which was strategized with the support of the Asian Development Bank.
Sri Lanka is internationally renowned to be home to some of the world’s most stunning beaches and coastlines, with foreign tourists from all corners of the world paying a visit to the island to soak up the sun and breathe the ocean air of Sri Lanka. Capitalizing on the increasing fascination and attraction of international tourists to visit the island nation, the SLTA together with the ADB has discussed the possibilities of exploring and expediting maritime tourism, in order to generate tourist revenue.
Speaking on the past and future plans of investing in maritime tourism, SLTDA Chairman Priyantha Fernando said, “The level of investment needed is difficult to estimate at the moment,”. The last budget had allocated 50 million rupees which made it hard to make improvements. However, this year I believe we will spend 200 to 250 million on the development process.”
Maritime tourism is essentially an area of tourism that benefits island nations and countries along sea shores. It is a specified avenue related to the active and/or passive participation of tourists and visitors in leisure activities in coastal waters and their shorelines such as swimming, surfing, diving, snorkeling, whale-watching, etc. A country that is highly dependent on the foreign revenue brought in by the tourism trade, Sri Lanka is currently working towards expanding the existing tourism sector in the country to suit the current trends in the world, and the interests among potential tourist markets.
