When you visit Sri Lanka, you are pretty much touring a war zone. At least that’s the impression that some tourists like Mian Ridge get. As you sip your drink, you might be greeted by a couple of soldiers on there gun boat, giving you the feeling of being in a war zone.
With the ongoing battle between the military and the Liberation of Tamil Tigers Elam (LTTE), it is a full on Civil war like situation in Sri Lanka. Successive check points on the road are just an added hassle for the tourists visiting the region.
As a result of all these, the percentage of tourists visiting Lanka dropped to about 24. Besides the LTTE conflict, yet another contributing factor to the tourism decline is the Tsunami. Several hotels were wrecked in this part of Asia.
In yet another blow, tourism suffered badly when the LTTE rebels took over a military post in the Yala Wildlife sanctuary. This happened on October 15, 2007. Further attack s like an air attack on the Katunayake Air Force Base by the rebels, destroyed part of the International airport in Sri Lanka. So, folks involved in the tourist business in Sri Lanka have been worried quite a bit lately.
Added to all these, the travel advisory issued on Sri Lanka by many Western countries kept a lot of foreign travelers out of Sri Lanka. For any developing country, tourism is a great way to boost up the economy. So, for Sri Lanka the war resulted in no tourism, which resulted in an economic decline of the nation.
Image Credit: Tourism-srilanka
