Min John Amaratunge recommends more night clubs in Colombo to attract tourists

COLOMBO (News 1st) - Sri Lanka has been named the best country in the world to visit in 2019 by Lonely Planet. Better transport links, new hotels and a growing number of activities were cited as the reason the south-Asian island was chosen for the top spot in the guidebook publisher ’s annual Best in Travel awards. Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel lists the top 10 countries, cities and regions alongside other travel experiences for the year ahead. Tourist visits to Sri Lanka increased from 447,890 in 2009 to an all-time high of 2.1 million last year. Germany is rated second in the countries list, and Zimbabwe comes in third. In the fifth position is Kyrgyzstan while Copenhagen, Shenzhen in China and Nova Sad in Serbia were named the best cities to travel to in 2019. Expressing views on the matter, Minister of Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs, John Amaratunga said that it is only now that the country gets due recognition from international media as the finest destination. He continued to say that the Colombo hoteliers complaint on tourists not staying in Colombo. The Minister recommended nightclubs to be built in Colombo to attract them instead. "The other day the Galle face hotel opened a nightclub and it was very attractive. I don't know whether you were there, but I was able to visit there, I would have loved to stay longer" added the Minister.