SL – Asia’s best destination for Wildlife Tourism, in CNN’s 20 best places to visit in 2020
View(s):The New Year 2020 kicked off with a fresh start and good vibes for Sri Lanka, for the island destination bagged its first award of the year, as Asia’s best destination for Wildlife Tourism at the Top Asia Corporate ball 2019, which was held at the Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sri Lanka was ranked first in the category of ‘’Asia’s Best Nation for Wildlife Tourism’’, from a survey conducted on Asian countries and out of five short listed countries, selected by Top 10 Asia’s premier publications. The event was organised by RHS Media, which is the publisher for the premier business, people and lifestyle magazines, Top 10 of Malaysia and Top 10 of Asia, a Sri Lanka Tourism media release said.
Adding another feather to Sri Lanka’s cap, CNN Travel included Sri Lanka along with 19 countries as ‘’20 best places to visit ‘’ for 2020.
Part of CNN’s quote on Sri Lanka read as, ‘’The South Asian island nation of Sri Lanka is as ancient as it is beautiful; as complex a civilization now as at any time in its 2,000-year history. Despite recent tumult (the horrific terror attacks last Easter), Sri Lanka remains an essential destination, an epicenter of history, with relics and ruins, temples and palaces, wildlife running free. Sitting in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern tip of India, travellers may default to thinking of Sri Lanka as a beach getaway. But to truly immerse yourself in the country’s history, go inland and tour the country’s cultural triangle.”
In 2019, Sri Lanka was able to receive several international endorsements, including emerging as the winner of “Asia’s’ Leading Adventure Tourism Destination” and “Asia’s Leading Emerging Tourism Destination – Colombo”, at the World Travel Awards which was held at the Vinepearl Convention Center in PhuQuoc , Vietnam, for the 26th consecutive year, amidst a large number of travel and leisure industry stakeholders, and tourism officials from all across the globe.
Sri Lanka was nominated among the first six Asian countries for solo female travellers by Lonely Planet. According to Sofia Levin, who writes for the Lonely Planet magazine, ‘’You could spend a few days in Colombo, but for a more peaceful environment, head for the hills. Nuwara Eliya is Sri Lanka’s tea country with verdant, rolling hills and fresh air, but I preferred the smaller, laid back town of Ella.” Sri Lanka was given this recognition along with several other countries including Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, Turkey, South Korea and the Philippines.