Kalpatiya region, a beautiful coastal area located in the western province of Sri Lanka has been identified as a preferable destination for eco tourism development under a project for tourism development. The Sri Lanka tourism development authority has already allocated a land of 5, 000 acres to be developed in the zone. Tourism development in Sri Lanka has gained momentum with a large number of investments approaching the country, said a senior official.
Sri Lanka that has identified 3 areas for development namely Kalpitiya, Kuchchuvelli and Passekudah has set a target to create 35,000 rooms by 2015 to cater 2.5 million tourists who are expected to arrive annually. The country expects foreign exchange earnings to increase from the current $ 326 million to $ 3 billion by the year 2015. The Kalpitiya project looks forward to complete 2,000 rooms by 2012 and another 3,000 by 2015 to cater to the increasing number of tourist arrivals.
In addition, a project of Rs. 1.7 billion creating 200 rooms, another project of Rs 2.3 billion creating 300 rooms and a Rs. 2 billion project are in the pipeline waiting to get an approval from environmental authorities.
