Tourism in Sri Lanka

In the past, ferry services between India and Sri Lanka for tourists have been introduced and suspended repeatedly because of their low usage.[6]The low usage of the old ferry services could be due to the high cost of the former services.[7] As of now, the only way for tourists to access India from Sri Lanka is by air. In 2019 negotiations about ferry services between Colombo and Tuticorin and between Talaimannar and Rameshwaram began. There is also a proposal to operate a cruise/ferry service between Colombo and Kochi in Kerala. The Indian and Sri Lankan governments are working close together to connect the two neighboring countries better. [8] The Sri Lankan minister of Tourism Development John Amaratunga indicated that a ferry service will help tourists from both sides to travel at a very low cost.[9]

Yala National Park has the world's highest concentration of leopards per square kilometer.[16]

The world's largest gathering of wild Asian elephants at Minneriya park is commonly known as The Gathering.[17][18][19]

Despite its small size, Sri Lanka possesses a high level of biodiversity and wildlife resources, and is rated among the 34 biodiversity hotspots in the world.[20] Many species of flora and fauna are indigenous to Sri Lanka. This has made the island a country with the highest rates of biological endemism in the world.

Thirteen percent of Sri Lanka's land surface has been designated as Wildlife Protected Areas (WLPAs), which at present exceed a total area of 8500 km2.[21] Approximately 7% of the area is national parks, the areas allowed for the public to see and study wildlife. Sri Lanka's national parks have been become popular tourist destinations.

The Unawatuna beach at southern coast of the island was named as the World's Best Beach for 2004 by Discovery Channel.[22] In 2013 it was ranked in among the world's 100 best beaches list by CNN.[23]

Sri Lanka possesses nearly 1600 km coastlines with tropical beaches which are popular among both local and foreign tourists.[24] Most of the coastlines of the country are studded with varying coastal features such as bays, lagoons, sandbanks, and rocky headlands. Marine recreation activities, such as sea bathing and swimming, surfing, boating, snorkelling, deep-sea fishing, underwater photography, and scuba diving, can be seen at most of these beaches and related resort areas. Beaches at Tangalle, Beruwala, Mirissa, Bentota, Unawatuna Arugam Bay, Pasikudah, Hikkaduwa, Uppuveli and Negombo are considered as famous tourist beaches in the country.[25]

Sri Lanka has numerous tourist attractions with areas of natural scenic beauty, primarily including mountainous terrains, agricultural landscapes, waterfalls, places with diverse climatic conditions, reservoirs (wewas), and rivers.

Herd of elephants at Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage

The country has six botanical gardens and four Zoological gardens. The botanical gardens are maintained by the Department of National Botanical Gardens,[26] and the zoological gardens are maintained by the Department of National Zoological Gardens.[27] The gardens have become attractive places among local and foreign visitors.

Sigiriya the ancient stone fortress considered by many to be the eighth wonder of the world.[28]

Heritage tourism involves visiting historical sites. Sri Lanka is very rich in pre-historic, proto-historic, and historic monuments, which bespeak its ancient civilization and culture. Mainly Buddhism has influenced in moulding the cultural heritage of the country. The historic period of Sri Lanka proper starts at circa 236 B.C. with the introduction of Buddhism to the country by the missionaries sent by the Indian empire Asoka.

The UNESCO has declared six archaeological and two ecological World Heritage Sites in the country.[29] Beside the world heritage sites the government of Sri Lanka has declared a number of archaeological protected sites and monuments within the country.

The mountain of Sri Pada is one of the places where people of four major religions worship together.[30]

Sri Lanka is well known for its rich Buddhist culture as well as other religions. Being a religious country, Sri Lanka has many places with religious and historic significance, which attract tourists from all over the world. Anuradhapura, Temple of the Tooth, Sri Pada, Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu and Kataragama, are a few famous religious sites in the island that attract a large number of tourists.[31]

The foot pilgrimage called Pada Yatra, which is one of Sri Lanka's oldest traditions, has been practiced for centuries, where the local people from Jaffna come along the East Coast to Kataragama shrine.[32]

Sports tourism is defined as either people being involved in, observing or participating in a particular sporting event for leisure.[33] Sri Lanka is also a destination for sports such as cricket, rugby, golf and surfing. Except for cricket, the contribution to the tourism sector from other sports are still at a very low level. Apart from mainstream sports events, adventure sports are also included in sports tourism. Trekking, hiking, diving, rock climbing, deep sea fishing, whale watching and hot air ballooning are some of the adventure sports those can be found in Sri Lanka.[34]

National Museum of Colombo, established in 1877

Tea tourism is a relatively new concept, which is already practiced in Sri Lanka.[35]

Cultural tourism includes tourism in urban areas, particularly historic or large cities and their cultural facilities such as museums and theatres.

Museums and theatres – Currently four national museums[36] and 26 archaeological museums[37] have been established in Sri Lanka. National museums are maintained by the Department of National Museums and archaeological museums by the Department of Archaeology. Beside the museums a large number of theatres also can be found in Sri Lanka.

Festivals – Sri Lanka is a multi-cultural country with several different festivals celebrated by various communities. Sinhala and Tamil New Year celebrations, Vesak Festival, Christmas, Ramadan festival, Thai Pongal, and the Galle Literary Festival are a few of the major festivals.

Performing arts – There are three main traditional dance forms in Sri Lanka: Kandyan dancing, low country dancing, and Sabaragamuwa dancing. Though not unique to Sri Lanka, 'Bharatanatyam', which originated from India is also popular in Sri Lanka particularly among the Tamil community.

Food – The cuisine of Sri Lanka has been influenced by many historical, cultural, and other factors. Rice is the main staple diet of the country. Other staples include hoppers, string hoppers, and pittu.[38]

Being one of the largest producers of tea in the world Sri Lanka is best known for the production of unorthodox tea. Tea was introduced to the country by the British who called the country "Ceylon". Pure Ceylon tea is considered some of the finest tea produced anywhere in the world.

Handicrafts – Handicrafts available in Sri Lanka include wood carving, silverware, brass castings, ceramic ware, bamboo products, pottery, batiks, lace works, cane works, costume jewelry, lacquerware, wooden masks, coir goods, handlooms, and ivory products.