Sri Lanka’s nature tourism to see a boost following 18th CITES meet in Colombo this year
The 18th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP) to the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is to be held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) from May 23 to June 3this year.
CITES is an international agreement between governments and main aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
The Parties to CITES are collectively referred to as the Conference of the Parties. Every two to three years, the CoP meets to review the implementation of the Convention. These meetings last for about two weeks and are usually hosted by one of the Parties.
Over 3,000 foreign delegates and media are expected to participate at the forthcoming 18th meeting of the CoP.
Tourism experts have observed that the holding of the meeting in Colombo would in turn help boost nature tourism in Sri Lanka.
As per Conservation International (CI), Sri Lanka is one of 34 ‘biodiversity hotspots’ of in the world, with a large proportion of endemic species and a high dependence on its biodiversity for tourism and other social and economic activities
According to reports, Sri Lanka boasts of one of the highest rates of biological endemism in the world.
Meanwhile the sea around Sri Lanka is home to large families of cetaceans including mighty blue whales, sperm whales and dolphins. Altogether 34 species of cetaceans reportedly rule the waters surrounding the country, making it one of the best locations for whale and dolphin watching.
Despite the mighty elephants and rare amphibians found in the country birds are the glory of the Sri Lanka’s wildlife. Boasting nearly 510 bird species of which 33 are endemic.
Reports further state that Sri Lanka has one of the richest diversity of amphibians in the world, containing over 119 species of amphibians of over 106 of which are endemic.
OSL take:
Nature tourism would be an addition to Sri Lanka’s expanding tourism portfolio. The country’s tourism sector has been recording a continuous growth with the latest statistics for March this year also recording an increase in tourist arrivals. Sri Lanka’s tourism sector is now a hotspot for foreign investments. Therefore, foreign businesses/investors could explore business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tourism sector.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/10042019/Z_1 |