Sri Lanka to celebrate 50 years of tourism on May 2
A colourful eye catching logo encapsulating Sri Lanka’s diverse biodiversity was launched at a ceremony to coincide with the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Sri Lanka’ s tourism which fell on February 12. The Minister of Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs, John Amaratunga launched the Golden Jubilee logo on the Internet at a ceremony held at the Monara Restaurant of the Hotel School building in Colombo . Minister Amaratunga said that plans are afoot to attract high spending tourists from India and China to Sri Lanka. He said Sri Lanka will also host a Tour Operators conference in the middle of the year along with the Miss Tourism Contest (currently being held). The Minister said they are focusing on tourism to become the foremost foreign exchange earner in the country with participation of the private sector and regulated by the state.
“What is depicted in the logo is now available such as wild life, heritage, wind surfing sports etc. Most tourists complain that there aren’t enough events here and we have introduced sports to tourists visiting the country. There is a wide range of sports tourism available here that foreigners are interested in such as diving, whale and dolphin watching. Sri Lanka is a country where tourists can visit several places in a matter of hours. There is absolute peace in the country with a constant climate,” he said, adding that tourists cannot visit many countries owing to a dreadful virus spreading across and due to turmoil that prevails in the Middle East and in Europe.
Director General –Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, Malraj Kiriella said that steps will be taken to develop ‘Home Stay’ villages in many parts of the country that will include Eco Tourism and other products like handicrafts, etc. The main golden jubilee celebrations will be on May 2 with many multi religious activities. There will be essay competition for school children, art and photographic competition for school children and for the public. The main ceremony will be held at the BMICH with the participation of President Maithripala Sirisena and the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Secretary General of the UNWTO.The other highlights include the launching of a commemorative stamp and a volume on Sri Lanka Tourism and awarding of medals to those in the tourism sector and an exhibition at the BMICH showcasing Sri Lanka Tourism during the past 50 years.