The famous explorer Marco Polo
of the 12th Century wrote that Sri Lanka is the finest island in the
whole world. For centuries it had been a great tourism destination
particularly for European Travellers. However the 30 year long internal
conflict and terrorism had a negative impact of Tourism and the growth
of the industry got stagnated. However after the end of the conflict in
2009 the country’s tourism prospects look promising. In 2010 immediately
after the end of the war Sri Lanka had a growth of 46% in Tourism
arrivals. From 2009 to 2011 the Tourism arrivals got doubled with the
number of arrivals reaching 855,975 as at end 2011.
