Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has hailed the decision taken by the world's premier travel magazine, Lonely Planet, to reaffirm Sri Lanka as the best destination for travel in 2019, even after the Easter Sunday attacks in April.
"At the beginning of the year, Lonely Planet magazine named Sri Lanka as the world’s best destination to visit. However, after the Easter Sunday bomb blasts, we thought that we had lost this position. Many tourists fled the country. But last week, Lonely Planet stated that despite all the troubles Sri Lanka faced due to the attacks, we still remain the best destination for tourists to visit, the best destination in the world," the Premier said in a statement.
Quoting a recent article on the Planet magazine, PM Wickremesinghe said that Sri Lankans should be proud for being recognized as the best destination for travel.
“We came here and were greeted with a friendly hello by the people. Everyone was friendly and they welcomed us everywhere, we did not see any problems. This is the view of Lonely Planet magazine. Therefore, I must emphasize that the Government is taking steps to assist the tourism industry, and will announce further measures soon. I would like to thank all those in the tourism sector – big and small – who helped to keep the industry moving," the Premier added.
Wickremesinghe further said that he must also thank the members of the security forces who helped us from April 21.
"They set about capturing those responsible, and all are now in custody. They were able to accomplish this mission within just two months. So I must reiterate that tourism has a promising future in Sri Lanka. I urge everybody to get together to ensure that the industry thrives and enhances our image in the eyes of the world," Wickremesinghe said.
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