Sri Lanka -- an island nation in South Asia -- has emerged from decades of national conflict to reveal its mystic beauties.
Known as the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean,” the lush tropical isle is famous for its golden beaches with palm trees, Buddhist temples of glittering relics as well as exotic wildlife and sundry vegetation.
Its fledgling tourism industry has registered a 230 percent growth over the last five years, and more than 1.8 million travelers visited last year, including 14,000 Koreans. In the last three years, 50,000 Sri Lankans travelled to Korea and 30,000 Koreans toured Sri Lanka.
In an effort to appeal to a wider range of globetrotters, the Sri Lankan Tourism Promotion Bureau, the Sri Lankan Embassy and related companies hosted a travel road show in early June.
Participants pose at a business seminar titled “Sri Lanka Tourism Road Show” at Nine Tree Convention Center in Seoul on June 7. From left, Howard Lee, an Andrew Travel Company representative; Mahen Kariyawasan, the president of the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators; Dilukshi Wickramasinghe, a marketing manager from the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau; Sri Lankan Ambassador Manisha Gunasekera; Yang Moo-seung, the Tour 2000 president; and Koh Jong-seob, a Korean Air general manager. (Joel Lee / The Korea Herald)
Capital Colombo, which houses Portuguese, Dutch and British colonial-era buildings (Joel Lee / The Korea Herald)
Capital Colombo, which houses Portuguese, Dutch and British colonial-era buildings (Joel Lee / The Korea Herald)
A hotel terrace overlooking the Indian Ocean in Colombo (Joel Lee / The Korea Herald)
A colonial-era church in Galle in southern Sri Lanka (Joel Lee / The Korea Herald)
A colonial-era church in Galle in southern Sri Lanka (Joel Lee / The Korea Herald)
A lighthouse in Galle in southern Sri Lanka (Joel Lee / The Korea Herald)
Turquoise ocean facing Galle in southern Sri Lanka (Joel Lee / The Korea Herald)
The Rock Fortress of Sigiriya, dubbed the “eighth wonder of the world,” was a royal citadel in the fifth century with a pleasure garden built atop a 200-meter-rock, overlooking a verdant field. (Joel Lee / The Korea Herald)
The Rock Fortress of Sigiriya, dubbed the “eighth wonder of the world,” was a royal citadel in the fifth century with a pleasure garden built atop a 200-meter-rock, overlooking a verdant field. (Joel Lee / The Korea Herald)
The Golden Temple of Dambulla, a Buddhist cave shrine with murals and statues on a mountaintop, and a UNESCO World Heritage site (Joel Lee / The Korea Herald)
The Golden Temple of Dambulla, a Buddhist cave shrine with murals and statues on a mountaintop, and a UNESCO World Heritage site (Joel Lee / The Korea Herald)
The Sacred Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, the second-largest city in Sri Lanka, in the midst of Kandy plateau hills. (Joel Lee / The Korea Herald)
The Sacred Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, the second-largest city in Sri Lanka, in the midst of Kandy plateau hills. (Joel Lee / The Korea Herald)
German tourists at the Mini Adam's Peak in Ella (Joel Lee / The Korea Herald)
Local Sri Lankans on a road to Kandy (Joel Lee / The Korea Herald)
Sri Lankan children near Kandy (Joel Lee / The Korea Herald)
Koggala Beach (Joel Lee / The Korea Herald)
Elephants by a roadside near Nuwara Eliya (Joel Lee / The Korea Herald)
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