Sri Lanka listed among top five emerging destinations

Post-war Sri Lanka has been listed among the five new emerging travel powerhouses by the World Travel Market's industry report, a statement from the country's Tourism Development Authority said here on Monday.

The other counties listed are Mexico, Malaysia, Indonesia and Argentina, according to the report.

The Tourism Development Authority said the three key factors highlighted for Sri Lanka were re-emerging after the civil war; investing in infrastructure; and beauty of destination.

The industry report was launched at WTM in London last week. It highlights world travel trends and insights, with emphasis on the UK market and is referred to by many professionals in the industry world over, in making their strategic plans for the forthcoming year.

"It is important that Sri Lankan hoteliers take note of these findings and strategically develop and position their product and service offerings accordingly, in relation to the competition, to capitalize on these trends," tourism industry expert Srilal Miththapala said.

Around 53 tourism and hoteliers including eight small and medium enterprises participated at this year's World Travel Mart ( WTM). They worked to position Sri Lanka as an ideal honeymoon destination.

Sri Lanka's tourism sector has been booming since the end of a three decade war in 2009.

The Sri Lankan government has targeted one million arrivals for 2012 and revenue of one billion U.S. dollars from foreign direct investment.

By 2016 they hope to reach 2.5 million arrivals despite industry experts warning of massive infrastructure upgrades to meet this target.