Sri Lanka's rapidly rebounding tourism sector has received a further boost after the US lifted its travel warning to the Indian Ocean island a year after the end of a bloody civil war.
The US State Department said in a statement that it had "cancelled the Travel Warning for Sri Lanka due to improvements in safety and security conditions throughout the country".
Head of the Sri Lanka Tourism Bureau, Dileep Mudadeniya said: "This is something we have been looking forward to. It will have a knock-on effect on (travel) insurance rates and also encourage more business travel from the West."
The island nation has just passed its first anniversary of the defeat of Tamil Tiger rebels in a violent military offensive that ended the guerrillas' separatist campaign after 37 years of conflict. An estimated 100,000 lives were claimed in the war, according to United Nations.
Tourists were never directly targeted even during the height of the troubles between troops and Tamil Tigers, but the violence seriously tarnished the island's image.
http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/us-boost-for-sri-lanka-tourism/