Sri Lankan president stresses need to expand tourism beyond coastal areas

COLOMBO, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe stressed the need to expand the tourism industry beyond coastal areas to strengthen the country's economy, according to a statement from the President's Media Division (PMD) on Thursday.

Wickremesinghe made the remarks at the function to mark the handing over of an ecological park in Galle in southern Sri Lanka to the public on Wednesday, according to the PMD.

The PMD said the president highlighted the significance of the south in driving tourism promotion within the country, particularly outlining plans to develop Galle into a major tourist destination.

Construction of the park, which commenced in 2021, has transformed a 14-acre fallow field into a vibrant recreational space, it said.

The project encompasses various features such as a lake, walking paths, iron bridges, a children's park, market stalls, and ecosystems, with electricity sourced from solar lighting.

A program aimed at marketing the crops and other products of the local community to visitors will also be launched as part of this initiative, according to the PMD.

Tourism is a key source of foreign income in Sri Lanka, which received over 1.48 million tourists in 2023, an increase of 106.6 percent from 2022, and plans to attract 2.3 million tourists in 2024.