by James Ruggia
Last updated: 6:00 PM ET, Sun December 1, 2013
Sri Lanka's Civil War may be over on the battlefield but it continues to haunt the country as it tries to join the tourism world.
This month, even as Sri Lankan tourist officials celebrated record arrivals, British Prime Minister David Cameron made international news when he called for a war crimes tribunal.
As the Sri Lanka Tourist Authority estimates a record 1.2 million arrivals in 2013, the British press is beginning to question the moral implications of vacationing where recent war crimes took place.
The travel business is anxious to develop in a land increasingly popular with the Chinese market. Last year the country set a record of 1 million arrivals, earning about $1 billion. This year Sri Lanka expects to earn $1.5 billion from tourism.
Since Sri Lanka's 30-year Civil War ended in 2009, investors have been getting involved. In 2014, Marriott and Hyatt will open properties on Weligama Bay and in Colombo, the capital, respectively.
Shangri-La's Hambantota Resort and Spa, Sri Lanka will open in 2014 also and will join the existing Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo. British Airways added new flights from London Gatwick this year as the island has been consistently popular with British romance travelers.
Even during the war, Britain and India provided enough business to give the destination about 400,000 arrivals annually.
Sri Lanka is known for its beach, its wildlife, its natural parks and religious sites associated with Buddhism and Hinduism. The Hill Country offers white water rafting as well as great diving and surfing. The world's largest pod of the endangered Blue Whale, the world's largest animal, can be visited with any number of whale watching companies.
Though most Americans wouldn't fly so far for beaches alone, Sri Lanka combines nicely with the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The state's ethnic Tamils are related to the people of Sri Lanka. Tamil Nadu's long coastline, the Coromandel Coast, is also known for beaches.
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