“Greater Yala” development plan to be devised amidst pressing issues
Visiting Yala
Wild life tourism in the South is poised to take off in a sustainable footing with the “Greater Yala” initiative of developing the area as a unified tourist destination by incorporating nearby regions with a variety of ecosystems ranging from moist monsoon forests to freshwater and marine wetlands.
But more pressing issues cropped up recently will have to be addressed to maintain Sri Lanka’s wild life tourism offering in Yala which is famous for leopards attracting travellers for its sightings in a very small area of the park, several tour operators and hotel owners said,
One of the main issues is the charging of unbearable entrance fees by national parks from the tourist and for a half a day four hour drive ticket fee for two tourists is Rs. 23,000 equivalent to US $75. .Jeep owners also increased their hire charge from Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000 ($50), they said.
The other obstacle is the very bad road condition in and outside the park. Everyone is trying to make short term gains and due to these reasons tourist visitors have been reduced since April this year, they said,
A Greater Yala development plan will be devised with the active involvement of Wildlife and Forest Conservation Departments and the Ministry of Tourism,
This comprehensive plan will cover Udawalawe, Lunugamwehera, and Kataragama areas consisting of six national parks and three wildlife sanctuaries in the vicinity of Yala, he said.
Moreover there is a pressi ng need to enhance the facilities catering to tourists visiting these regions as many complaints on difficulties were being made by travellers, wild life enthusiasts and wild life tour operators in the island
Proper zoning and planning, with the carrying out of capacity assessments has to be done for tourism development in devising this plan.
There are 700 rooms available in the area including 505 rooms in star class hotels and guest houses excluding campaign sites; another 195 have been approved, according to official sources.
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