Sri Lanka has various types of incomes. Some income generating avenues can be controlled by certain individuals and groups. Some other income generating avenues cannot be controlled by any individual, organization or anything else. What is more valuable is the income generating avenues that cannot be stopped or destroyed by anyone.
Sri Lanka faced the gravest financial crisis after certain politicians and their political parties convinced Sri Lankan expatriates NOT to send dollars they earned in late 2021 and early 2022. But tourism is something that no one can control. It is the saviour of mother Lanka because no matter what happens or who tells what, tourists from all over the world love to visit Sri Lanka. They badly want to see the good or the bad and experience anything available ! This is how so-called `Aragalaya’ gave International publicity to Sri Lanka and promoted tourism unintentionally !.
Sri Lanka has been named as the 13th best island in the world in the list of `The 50 Best Islands in the World for 2023’ published by travel website Big 7 Travel. Sri Lanka is defined as a “beguiling” island in the article, was credited for its renowned hospitality and flavorful food, adding that “there are a thousand reasons” to visit the island nation.
According to the Big 7 travel article, there are a thousand reasons to visit the beguiling island, not least its friendly people, flavorful food, endless beaches and timeless ruins. Loop around the island and you’ll tick off tea plantations, elephant-filled wildlife parks, thousand-year-old ruins and endless strips of golden sand.
This compilation of the world’s most captivating and alluring island destinations offers a tantalizing peek into where globetrotters should set their sights for the year ahead, with the list having been put together by experts and enthusiasts alike, encompassing a wide range of island experiences.
To make this prestigious list, a very careful and precise selection process was employed. Scores were meticulously aggregated, taking into account valuable contributions from an engaged social media audience and travel experts who have explored these destinations firsthand.
Notably, this year’s assessment also considered significant events scheduled for 2023, new hotel and restaurant openings, and special initiatives designed to enhance the visitor experience, the article said.
Sri Lankan people are very good at pointing their fingers at anyone or anything but they never think how they can contribute towards the upliftment of the country. Not doing anything bad is also helpful when it comes to promoting tourism. Here in Sri Lanka the majority of the people are extremely hospitable and only a handful of them do certain things that make Sri Lanka unpopular. It is high time Sri Lankans start to contribute towards promoting tourism at an individual level.
Those handful of individuals, especially three-wheel drivers who are NOT connected to Pickme and Uber can stop snatching every cent in tourists’ pockets when transporting them in their three-wheeler and others who are in this handful group can stop robbing their belongings. They can also refrain from stealing and abusing (especially female tourists) them.
There is another very useful thing that can be done by almost all Sri Lankans in order to promote tourism and to improve themselves as individuals. It is learning simple English (at least spoken English) and using English as much as possible. Then tourists who visit Sri Lanka can talk to any Sri Lankan citizen and get any information they require without any trouble. In several other countries the ordinary people can understand and speak simple English.
All drivers who are connected to Pickme and Uber need to learn simple spoken English. Then Sri Lanka can stop the three-wheel mafia from snatching money from tourists.
The other very important thing is NOT leaving tourists in the middle of jungles when lightning trikes are launched by railway trade unionists !. Recently the trains were abandoned in the middle of jungles when the railway trade unions launched a lightning strike. The tourists who were traveling in them were stranded.
Some tourists travel in the second and third class in trains sandwiching among local commuters simply because they cannot buy first class tickets from the counters of railway stations and they have to book them online only. There is no connection between the relevant app and the apps usually used by the tourists. This system should be changed with immediate effect.
The CGR should allow any local or foreign commuter to buy first class train tickets from any counter in any station in the country. At the moment tourists travel in congested second and third class compartments and sweat from top to bottom due to non availability of first class tickets at counters !. The entire country should thank all our law enforcement officers for the swift service they provide for tourists.
As Sri Lankan citizens, our responsibility is assisting the motherland to get up and walk forward. We should not listen to the handful of bankrupt politicians who are always waiting until the country gets destroyed. Their only objective is capturing power at any cost.
