Adventure Tourism

Sri Lanka has something to offer everyone. It has the potential to become one of the great adventure destinations in the world. A rocky, mountainous core rises in three peneplains, or steps, from the centre of the island. Sheer rock faces abound in an island dissected with ridges and mountain ranges. No less than 130 rivers cascade down to the ocean, allowing plenty of scope for canoeing and white-water rafting. Anything from easy, grade one stretches, to hair-raising grade six rapids, to make even a seasonal rafter’s heart pump fast, is available. Sri Lanka’s potential for scuba diving is probably understated. In addition to the well known reefs, several others lie unexplored, off the routine diving-circuit.
It is probably in trekking that, Sri Lanka has the potential to stake a claim as a premier soft-adventure destination. Being a relatively compact island, it is not too difficult to design a trekking circuit that will run from the cool highlands to the humid, lowland rain-forest, or the parched dry lowlands dotted with ancient lakes and the remains of grand ancient civilizations. A trek can start at altitudes where temperatures drop below freezing point, and end only a few days later, in an almost desert-like environment. The mountainous core and two seasonal monsoons work to produce markedly different climatic zones in a relatively small area. Trekkers can experience montane forests, alpine grasslands, tea estates, paddy fields and scrub jungles, all in the space of a week.
Sri Lanka the land yet unexplored can easily be the new millennium’s adventure tourism destination. The adventure season now covers almost the entire year. Sri Lanka being blessed with rolling meadows, jagged rock faces, verdant valleys, meandering rivers, cascading waterfalls, dense forests, and hospitable people, blessed with a rich culture – is a land perfect for adventure. People from all over the world have rapidly begun to realize the potential of this island as a premium adventure sport destination. The wide choice of adventure sports ranges from daring to exotic tours that mix various activities.
white water vaulting and canoeing also give visitors a refreshing glimpse of lesser – travelled parts of the country.
Those who want to see man and nature surviving in each other’s arms is rediscovering one’s own

The Potential Tourism in North & East in the country.

When i visited Jaffna after touring Maldives for an official visit to conducts a survey regarding the investment climate for the World Bank, in September 2005. We could adopt the same concept in Sri Lanka in the coastal belt areas, specially in Jaffna & Trincomalee. which has a great potential. If True peace come to the island nation we could earn foreign currency to be the highest sector which earns foreign currency.
If we built Resorts, Hotels, water bunglows and special boat service like in Maldives, we could attract more tourist to show the war torned country of ours. We could raise our per capita income level overpassing other developing nations. For this to happen and to be a reality when war drums stops and the drums of Peacr starts to beat and when coofins stop coming to villagers investors will start to invest in those areas. We have small tiny islands in the North, if we could built resorts in those islands as well how nice will it be?. we should provide with the nessasary infrastructure by means of transport services and telecommunication links and a solid road network. then the true potential of our country will grow and grow to heigts tyhat no one would have ever thought. sky is the limit.

Power Sector needs Re-Structuring or rather Privatisation

Sri Lanka has been over the past years have not implement or Built Hydro Power plants or or other alternative energy sources such as Coal power plants in the country. They loose out millions by not implementing the planned out strategies. Also it needs to be modernise or privertise the Power sector to be among a competetive and efficient public entity in the country.
They have come up with Norochcholai, Trincomalee and Hambantota as the ear marker site to these proposed projects. I think the best option is not Norochcholai but it would be Hambantota or else Trincomalee. Since the Civil War is putting our developing plans on behind schedule as the investment is large as the country can not afford since of the War and to finance for the war and pay the dues to the other nations where we purchased our war equipments. As the India has indirect control over trincomalee as they have bought over the Oil tank farm. The Japanese and the other foreign nation who did the feasibility studies have shown that Norochcholai is not the best location out of the 3 sites. if they buit there they should have to built a rail link from Trincomalee to transport the coal or else they have to build a mid sea jetty off 4.5km which is going to be very costly.

Jaffna Tour

Just prior to the Presidential elections in November 2005, we were able to visit Jaffna for the first time in our history. As four dynamic undergraduates from the Business School of Informatics Institute of Technology left to Jaffna in last week of September 2005, in a bus that left from wellawatha. we left Colombo at 10pm and arrived in jaffna at 12.30 pm on the following day after 15 long journey along the A9 road.
We were able to visit almost the entire Jaffna Peninsula as we covered Nagadeepa, KKS, Palalai,Jaffa University, Point Pedro, Nallur etc.
It was a historic visit for our members.
May we be able to go again and May not War come again to devastate our beautiful Island country which was the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. We were able to stay 3 night and 4 days in Jaffna and return safely back to colombo.

Building Our Strategies

As the former Prime ministers of Singapore Lee Kwan Yew and the Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohammed’s vision that led the two countries in the developing paths as now both the countries are very much ahead of Sri Lanka in the 1960’s. But then Sri Lanka was very much ahead as they took Sri Lanka as a model to develop their country. As Singapore in a smaller country than Sri Lanka and they didn’t have much resources as Sri Lanka is having.

Sri Lanka too could have done better with the resources it had if the political leaders of our country had a clear vision to take our beautiful country forward to compete with the rest of the world like Singapore and Malaysia. Even our Present President Chandrika Kumaratunga, although she ruled the country for 11 years, she too, didn’t have a clear vision to drive the country forward unlike the former presidents like President Premadasa & J.R Jayawardane. But the present leader of the Opposition Ranil Wickramasinghe has a clear vision for the country. He understands the importance of having trade relations with foreign countries such as USA, European countries, India and Japan etc.

As in the case of Singapore the strategy that worked for them was the y understood the importance of developing the Port facilities to support as a Transit port that would enable them to take the maximum advantage of the location its country is situated. But it is fact that Sri Lanka is situated even in a better Location than Singapore and could have done better if we had leaders with a correct vision for the country, as we would have built a Port in Hambantota as a Transit Port to rest of the world to gain the advantage. Even as you take the Trincomalee Port its too is located in a strategically good location and has been one of the best Natural biggest harbors in the world. Even now its not too late if we could put our acts together and develop our country as a hub in the South Asian region to link to the world as the best Port as well as the best Airport if we expand and develop with all facilities and the technology it needs.

Today we need big investors who would come to the country and invest in mega projects such as infrastructure facilities, rail links, and good road network across the country, Power Projects etc. India have been able to get investors to have manufacturing plants to Mitshibishi, Toyota, electronic equipment manufacturing plants, IT & software companies, where these projects would give ample of job opportunities to the unemployed youth in the country. This would enable the local population to get the technology and a skilled work force to the country so that they could get the experience and some day India could open up factories of their own which they have done today, eve today they have their own vehicles to be proud of. Another step towards this is to open up Hotels and resorts to the up-market high spending holiday makers in the world and market them properly and effectively so that we could come up from the pit where we are today.

The way forward is to go with the trend, while building up synergies with other nations without trying to go alone. Unite we stand, divide we fall.

Research related work

A Trip to Maldives
I was able to get selected to go to conducta a survey in Maldives regarding the Investment Climate in Maldives for the World Bank. It was a priviledge for me to get selected from a group of 9 dynamic youth from Sri Lanka representing ACNielsen Sri Lanka.
We Conducted face to face indepth interviews with the Business community from a sample size of 150, from all fields such as Tourism( Hotels. Resorts) Transport & Logistics, Travel & tour Operators, and the Manufacturing Industry. We were stationed in KAM Hotel one of the 4 Star Hotels in Male'.
We were also lucky to go on a tourist Submarine to explore the sea at 50M depth.
we saw many coral rocks and fish, star fish, jelly fish, and sea mountains which was like in Heaven.
it was a good exposure and a good experiance for me in the end.