SRI Lanka is keen to promote its indigenous tourism offerings as it gears up to welcome over a million visitors this year.
According to Rumy Jaufer, managing director, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, new products under development include visits to ethnic communities such as the Veddahs, a forest-dwelling hunting community, and the Kaffirs, a group of South Africans brought into the country as labourers during British colonial times.
Traditional dance and art forms will be promoted as part of the strategy. Highlights include a southern dance ritual from Ambalangoda town, which was practiced in ancient times to treat ailments, and the catchy Carribbean-style dance rhythms of the Kaffirs.
DVDs showcasing the various dances will be distributed among travel consultants for promotion, said Jaufer.
S. Paramanathan, president, Travel Agents Association of Sri Lanka said: “This is a good move and should have been done a long time ago. In places like Australia, tourists visit traditional settlements and learn about (local) cultures.”
