Joint effort to promote sports tourism in Sri Lanka

By Anju Ambawatte
The Tourism Development & Christian Religious Affairs Ministry and the Sports Ministry recently announced their plans to promote ‘sports tourism’ in Sri Lanka through a series of sports events which will kick off early November anchoring Sri Lanka as the hub for international sporting events and luring tourists. 

During a joint news briefing held in Colombo, Tourism Development Minister John Amaratunga and Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara emphasized that as much as these events will attract a vast number of tourists, they will also broaden the horizon for local sports enthusiasts. 

Speaking to media, Minister Jayasekara stated that, while Sri Lanka is known as a cricketing nation, the country has hardly made use of its location in the map to develop as a sporting arena for other international sporting events. 

“Though we have worked in isolation to contribute to the development, this is a unique step taken by both ministries to work hand in hand towards one fundamental purpose. Therefore, this new concept is expected to expand global recognition which in turn will undoubtedly increase economic growth,” 
Amaratunga said.

It was mentioned that the events will comprise of activities on both water and land which will help introduce various picturesque locations in Sri Lanka to the world. 

International events relating mainly to water sports, motor sports and athletic events which are to be held in different parts of the Country will take centre stage starting the 2nd week of November. 
The International Powerboat Championship has 32 registered participants from various countries and will be racing through the waters of Bentota. 

This will be followed by ‘X30 Asia Cup Sri Lanka 2018’ which is an International Go-kart racing competition. This is yet another first to be held in an International level in Sri Lanka as well as in the region of South Asia. 

Sports calendar of the next year includes IRONMAN 70.3 Colombo, the World’s number one multi-sport event brand. IRONMAN Triathlon is a 1.9km sea-swim, 90km bicycle ride ending with 21.2km run. As of now, 465 tri-athletes have registered to participate from 53 countries, along with their family and friends. 

The event ‘World Surfing league’ to be held in Arugam-Bay, ‘The Senior Golf European tour’ spread across Colombo, Kandy and Nuwera-Eliya golf grounds and adventure sports such as rock climbing, mountain climbing, coast-to-coast road cycling and mountain biking are few other sporting events worth mentioning. 

“With this wide array of sporting entertainment taking place in various parts of the Island, it is inevitable that Sri Lanka will be mapped as the ultimate destination for Sports Tourism,” 
Jayasekara stated.