Sri Lanka’s Deputy Prime Minister for Tourism said with the 25 year battle against the Tamil Tigers ending, “there’s a lot of interest in the investment side”. Faizer Mustapha said there are early stage negotiations for hotel developments taking place. He said within six months he expects to finalize resort deals with Middle East investors, although he did not provide details.
Mustapha talked about Sri Lanka’s tourism sector on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai. He said he expects a 30% increase in the number of Middle Eastern Tourists this year, but a big increase in tourism revenue is not likely because of the global financial crisis. The tourism sector contributes between 2% -3% to Sri Lanka’s economy.
