In a few Facebook groups related to travel in Sri Lanka, one person asked : “What is best province for travelling in srilanka?? Tell us ……”
This is a difficult question. Here is my attempt to answer it though.
I believe it all depends upon what you look for.
If you are interested in sustainable tourism, here is a photo showing 3 tourism companies acknowledged as sustainability champions during a ceremony held in Colombo on 13th of June 2023 by SLTA (Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance).
SLTA has awarded 20 tourism businesses the sustainability champion title, based on hundreds of applications in the country.
Sri Lanka has 9 provinces, 25 districts.
Out of the 20 champions, 3 (posing happily on the photo) are from Batticaloa district.
Yes… You read it well… 3 are from this unknown district that many people in Colombo are not even able to locate on a Sri Lankan map.
Because there was a civil war till 2009 in Sri Lanka, the North and East have been difficult of access during decades, while other parts of the country were building hotels.
So somehow, Nature has been preserved by the fighting.
The war is over since 2009.
But still, travellers are rare in the North and East.
Let’s come back to our maths lesson of the day…
1 district out of 25, so 1/25=4%
3 awardees out of 20… so 3/20=15%…
15/4=3.75… which means that if you look at the national level, Batticaloa sustainable tourism businesses are 3.75 times more represented than they should be if amongst the awardees, all districts would have an equal number of awardees.
The war preserved us from hasty development ONLY to a certain extent.
Yes, Batticaloa district also has some nonsensical buildings and tourism businesses harming the environment.
A damned lot needs to be done in terms of educating the whole society about environmental protection, preservation of local cultures, mutual understanding, etc.
Out of all the applicants who work with sustainable principles at heart in Sri Lanka, 3 tourism businesses in our district, who took the challenge to be on this path, despite the consequences of the war, the poverty, the insecurity that was prevailing earlier in our war affected district, have been awarded a sustainability champion certificate.
On 13th of June 2023, SLTA awarded 20 sustainable companies, and I personally felt that after years of hard work and commitment of our whole team to work in the district, whatever the challenges, receiving this award along much better established businesses who do fantastic work in other parts of the country, was proving that reconciliation was possible.
A common vision is on its way.
Sri Lanka,
4 main religions,
3 languages,
1 smile.
Feeling grateful with Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance , Karpaha Sands and Riviera Resort Sri Lanka
Sending Peace and Love to all amazing Sri Lankan Sisters and Brothers from Beautiful Batticaloa.
