• East Coast is opened
• Religious Tourism in Sri Lanka
• Batticaloa – Trincomalee rail bus service inaugurated
• Colombo – Jaffna combined railway-bus service
• Sigiriya Museum – most attractive in South Asia
• Sri Lanka : a new chapter
• A9 opened to public
• Passenger train service from Fort to Bandaranaike International Airport
• Tourism industry for resurgence with Rs. 130 m promo
• Sigiriya rehabilitated
• Petrol up by Rs. 10/=, Diesel up by Rs. 3/=
• British eases Travel Advisory

The East Coast of the country – i.e. Trincomalee, Nilaveli and Passekudah are opened now and we are featuring tours to these areas.  There have been many visitors visiting these areas during the last one month.  However, limited accommodation is available over there.

Religious Tourism in Sri Lanka
The Tourism Ministry is promoting ‘Religious Tourism’ in Sri Lanka starting with the three main religious ceremonies, Esala Perahara in Kandy, Kataragama Festival and Nallur –Kandaswami Festival in Jaffna that fall in July and August.  The Ministry expects to attract a minimum of 100,000 devotees from among the Tamil Diaspora for the Nallur Kandaswami Festival alone.

A rail bus service between Batticaloa and Trincomalee was inaugurated recently.  They are planning to expand this service and that a rail bus service would soon commence from Batticaloa to Gal-oya and then from Gal-oya to Trincomalee.

The inauguration had taken place at the Batticaloa Railway Station with National Reconciliation and Integration Minister Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan and Eastern Province Chief Minster Sivanesathoorai Chandrakanthan among those present.

A combined railway-bus service will be launched to Jaffna for the convenience of the general public.

Under this programme, passengers going to Jaffna would be able to take the train from Colombo to Vavuniya and from there travel in buses on the A9 road to Jaffna. Those coming from Jaffna will be able to take the bus from Jaffna to Vavuniya and board the Colombo bound train from there.

The government expects to engage private bus operators as well, to operate buses plying between Vavuniya and Jaffna soon.   A combined ticket for the service will be made available for the convenience of the public and that people living in Jaffna could purchase their tickets in Jaffna.  

The Sigiriya Museum has been named the most attractive in South Asia by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The museum which features two main artifacts of archeological value – a furnace used to melt iron during the Anuradhapura era and a valuable earring found in Sigiriya – also houses rarities found in Dambulla, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. 

The Sigiriya Museum, that is a collaborative effort between the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Central Cultural Fund of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs of National Heritage and the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau of the Ministry of Tourism, was declared open in the presence of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Yasuo Fukuda, the Former Prime Minister of Japan and the President of the Sri Lanka – Japan Friendship Association.

A new resort planned for Sri Lanka has particular importance – as it’s the first of its kind since the end of the civil war off-limits north of the country – in a bid to revitalize tourism.

Sri Lanka is preparing for a new chapter of development and a resurgence of tourism following the end of nearly three decades.  The war-hit north of the country is now being rediscovered by foreign investors and developers after Tamil Tiger guerrillas were paving the way for a phase of economic liberalization.

The A9 highway was ceremonially opened to the public with Basil Rajapaksa, MP and Senior Advisor to the President, gracing the occasion.  The highway was declared open by transporting 210 passengers from Jaffna to Medawachchiya in five buses provided by the Government.

For the first time in Sri Lanka a passenger train service from the Fort railway station to the Bandaranaike International Airport will come into service in a few months.

The passenger service will be much faster than travelling by highway and will be less time consuming.

The tickets will be priced at a moderate level so that everyone would be able to afford it.  This special service would be provided at night because night time is deemed to be the peak time at the airport. There is already a train station, station master and a loop line in Katunayake used to transport the aviation fuel for the airport.    However, the Railway station is hundreds of meters outside the airport and a special shuttle service will be provided to transport passengers to the airport.

Sri Lanka Tourism, backed by an investment of Rs. 130 million, is set to re-emerge on the international stage.  The resurgence is expected to be generated by re-branding Sri Lanka’s image and positioning  it through international media promotion.  Sri Lanka Tourism recently re-launched its logo from “Sri Lanka A Land Like No Other” to the new “Sri Lanka A Small Miracle”.  

Two specially designed rehabilitation projects at Sigiriya assigned to the Geological Survey and  Mines Bureau are nearing completion.   The funded projects  are the building of  the new stainless steel platform  at the Sigiriya frescoes pocket and the reinforcement of the rock wall around the fortress.  The new platform is established so that the visitors could view the full range of frescoes safely.  The project is expected to be completed  in 3 months.

The government of Sri Lanka has increased fuel prices with effect from midnight 1st July, 2009.  A litre of Petrol 90 Octane had been increased by Rs. 10/=  and Octane 95 by  Rs.15/=, diesel by  Rs. 3/=.

British eases Travel Advisory
In a move bound  to boost the tourist industry, the  British  government relaxed  some of the travel restrictions on Sri Lanka recently.  British High Commissioner, Mr. Peter Hayes said that Britain would no longer discourage  British holidaymakers from  enjoying leopard spotting at Yala National Park, surfing at Arugam bay or  admiring Trincomalee harbour.