Full article in JPG format: page 39 & page 40/41
As the country's fourth highest earner of foreign exchange, tourism has long been considered vital to the economic health of Sri Lanka.
The sector has withstood numerous shocks in recent times, overcoming a major terror attack on Colombo's Bandaranaike Airport in 2001, the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004, and the global financial crisis in 2007. Each time the tourists withdrew at first, only to flock back in still-greater numbers.
But since the end of the civil war in May 2009, the 'Pearl of the Indian Ocean' has enjoyed its largest growth spurt ever. Visitor numbers have almost tripled to 1.27 million in four years, with flag carrier SriLankan Airlines leading the charge to revitalise the island's fortunes...
