May 06--KUWAIT -- Following its victory against the Tamil Tiger rebels after years of insurgency, Sri Lanka has been enjoying significant growth in its tourism sector, said the island nation's envoy to Kuwait. Speaking to the Kuwait Times during the recently held Sri Lanka Tourism Road Show at the Crowne Plaza hotel, C A H M Wijeratne, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Kuwait said soon after its 2009victory against the rebels, Sri Lanka has been drawing visitors from all over the world, including from Kuwait.

"Kuwait has been identified by our tourism authority as one of our main sources of tourism recently. In fact, last year, we recorded more than 5,000 arrivals from Kuwait, mostly Kuwaitis accompanied by their families," Wijeratne said. The envoy said Kuwaitis enjoyed coming to Sri Lanka for various reasons but mostly for its beautiful weather and the warm hospitality of its people.

"Sri Lanka is now known as the 'Wonder of Asia' and we are happy and proud of the description. Every year, we have various attractive packages for foreign tourists, right from hotel accommodation to food and places to visit," the ambassador said. "For Middle Eastern travelers, we are going to cater to them in a very special way and paying specific attention to their needs such as villa style accommodation and halaal food. We will also provide Arabic speaking guides who are well versed with the Middle Eastern customs and traditions," he added.

Sri Lanka expects 90,000 tourist arrivals in 2013, up from more than 70,000 last year. By 2016, Sri Lanka would like to double this number, if not triple it. The road show provides an opportunity for business networking and information dissemination regarding Sri Lankan tourism. He also wooed Kuwaitis and urged them to plan their vacation this summer in Sri Lanka. He said the peninsula will always be a destination that people will forever treasure since it presents miraculous and natural paradise awash in diamond blue colours with verdant greenery to relax.

A tourism promotional video presentation wrapped up the two-hour event and concluded with business reception and a sumptuous dinner. Sri Lanka is an island country in the northern Indian Ocean off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent in South Asia. Known until 1972 as Ceylon, Sri Lanka has maritime borders with India to the northwest and the Maldives to the southwest.

Sri Lanka is a diverse country home to many religions, ethnicities and languages. Sri Lanka has a rich Buddhist heritage, and the first known Buddhist writings were composed on the island. The country's recent history has been marred by a thirty-year civil war which decisively but controversially ended in a military victory in 2009.

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