Tourism

Tourism

Sri Lanka has a rapidly growing tourism industry. According to 2011 estimates, the total contribution to GDP of the travel and tourism sector was about 8.4 percent while that same sector directly and indirectly supported approximately 590,000 jobs. In 2012, Sri Lanka's tourism marked a significant achievement by welcoming more than one million tourists within the year.
Since gaining independence from the British, Sri Lanka has continued to attract foreign investors and tourists to the island. In 1966, the Government of Sri Lanka established the Ceylon Tourist Board with a primary objective of revitalising the tourism industry.
Tourism expanded rapidly after 1966. Sri Lanka’s beaches were and continue to be main attractions
among visitors while the ancient cities such as Anuradhapura, the historic city of Kandy, and the
mountainous region dominated by the tea plantations are also becoming increasingly popular among
tourists.
The vast diversity of the geography and climate contained on the small island is one of Sri Lanka’s most
unique features that allows for a multitude of unique sites that will keep tourists mesmerized.
For more information on Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, please visit the website of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority. | www.sltda.lk