Here's why you should visit Sri Lanka now
Despite its economic woes, the resplendent isle of Sri Lanka is once again open to welcoming visitors. A safe and calm environment combined with the relaxation of travel advisories by several key counties, is seeing visitor numbers significantly increasing.
Tourist arrivals in the first fifteen days of November surpassed 27,000 and the likelihood of Sri Lanka crossing the 600,000 arrivals mark for the year, by the third week of November is bound to happen. The steady rise in weekly numbers of arrivals also points towards November 2022 total to exceed 55,000 – if all continues to go well. Should that occur, November’s total arrivals would be the 2nd highest in a month, year-to-date, following the record 106,500 arrivals achieved earlier this year in March.
The time to visit is now. As per Travel Daily Australia, there are several reasons. These include the ‘value for money’ factor, where hotel pricing is very competitive – more so with the steep fall in the exchange rate. In April 2022 the exchange rate was 1 GBP to 245 LKR, compared to 1 GBP to 413 LKR now. What this translates to is the travelers money stretching significantly further – despite whatever rise in prices.
Another reason as enumerated by Travel Daily is that for those who avoid visiting overcrowded destinations, a visit to Sri Lanka, either this winter 2022 or early 2023 is about the best time – before the return of mass tourism. Visitors can have wide expanses of palm fringed golden beaches all to themselves or trek off the beaten track without encountering anyone. Basically, you’ll have the singular opportunity to enjoy this verdant country in serenity.
What better time to visit than now –especially for honeymooners. As per the popular and Influential magazine Conde Nast Traveller, “During the dry season (December to April), honeymooners can experience the best that this Indian Ocean island nation has to offer. Start with a few nights in the Hatton tea highlands at Ceylon Tea Trails, followed by a safari-style stay at Yala National Park’s Wild Coast Tented Lodge, to spot leopards and Asian elephants.
Further boosting the island’s bid to attract tourists was where it made it to the ’20 Best Countries in the World’ listing, as per the ’2022 Readers’ Choice awards conducted also by Condé Nast Traveller. Italy tops the list, while Sri Lanka was ranked at number 17 ahead of Israel, Turkey and South Africa respectively.
Following was its description on Sri Lanka: “This South Asian nation packs a wallop into a teardrop-shaped island that’s only slightly larger than the State of West Virginia: Think high-elevation tea plantations that are eye-vibratingly green, national parks where sloth bears and endangered elephants roam, and friendly surf towns that, if you squint, might remind you of Costa Rica or Nicaragua 10 years ago. (May we suggest Ahangama, with its indie-music venues, locavore cafés, and eco-boutiques?)
And then there’s the capital city of Colombo, where you can shop for local spices, fly kites along the waterfront, or even charter a yacht. As Sri Lanka has worked in recent years to secure its spot as a global tourism contender, it has faced quite a few challenges, from the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings to the pandemic and it’s looking to regain the trust of visitors with its trademark hospitality and good-nature—not to mention an ever-expanding roster of new hotels and resorts.”
Hospitality Sri Lanka
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