Marine magic

Marine life resources will play a major role in attracting tourists to Sri Lanka, claim experts at a seminar conducted by SLTPB

“In the upcoming years, marine, biological and ecological resources in Sri Lanka will become one of the major tourist attractions of the country,” said an expert panel of researchers at a seminar on ‘Voyages to the untold mysteries of marine life in Sri Lanka’ conducted by Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau (SLTPB).

At the seminar conducted on Friday, 28 January, at Samudra Hotel, the researchers further revealed that most of the marine life resources available to Sri Lanka were quite unknown to the world, yet they were rich in diversity and exotic beauty compared to any other destination across the globe.

Arjan Rajasooriya, a coral scientist and a coastal zone management specialist of National Aquatic Resources Association (NARA), in his speech highlighted that Sri Lankan underwater marine life consisted of a rare combination of natural coral formations.

The coral reefs in places like Hikkaduwa, Mirissa and eastern coastal belt of the country are surrounded by fascinating underwater plants and herds of colourful tropical fish varieties.

“Free diving and snorkeling in these waters will offer any tourist an entirely different and extremely delightful experience,” commented Rajasooriya, emphasising the need to educate local and foreign populace alike on preserving these coral reefs for future generations.

Ariyaseela Wickramanayake, a veteran in diving recreation and underwater sports and the Chairman of Master Divers (Pvt) Ltd., spoke on marine archaeology and the adventures into discovering historical values of sunken shipwrecks around the coastal belt of Sri Lanka.

His speech delivered valuable insights on the importance of making people aware of these attractions and how that can be used as an investiture for the development of tourism industry in our country. “There are about 10-12 ships moving across the waters around Sri Lanka  at any given time; if we build some facility to watch them from the shore, that alone can be an exciting experience for anyone,” he noted.

Presenting their research findings on ‘Whale Watching in Sri Lanka,’ Andrew Sutton, videographer for BBC and WWF – UK and Asha De Vos, specialist in mammal behaviour and a PhD student of blue whales in Sri Lanka, said: “Sri Lankan waters carry 23 special varieties of whales and among them the most important blue whale and the sperm whale. Both whales can be easily encountered in Sri Lankan waters in less than two hours drive from the coast. This brings ease of access for whale watching enthusiasts, a comfort hardly available in other places in the world.

“Another important fact is that if you reach these waters intending to see a whale, it is 100% guaranteed that you will end up with a rendezvous. Similarly dolphins too can be seen in large herds in our marine waters.”

They highlighted that today whale watching is a US$ 3 billion worth tourist attraction in the world, part of which can be easily absorbed via tourism industry in Sri Lanka by unveiling these hidden assets of underwater marine life.

In an open discussion held after the seminar, participants brought into focus the steps that should be taken to preserve these marine life resources for the benefit of the country at large. Adding his views about the seminar, Acting Managing Director of SLTPB Malraj Kiriella said: “By conducting similar awareness sessions like this, Sri Lanka Tourism hopes to endorse a range of other themes related to the tourism industry in the upcoming months, bringing together our local and international stakeholders on one platform, which gives them an opportunity to become collectively responsible for promoting tourism in the country by fair means.”

The seminar was the first knowledge series conducted under Sri Lanka Tourism’s 12 months-12 themes promotion for 2011, being on par with January’s theme ‘Pristine Beaches’. A large gathering of representatives from foreign missions, tourist agencies and hoteliers, researchers and marine life enthusiasts were present at this event held in Colombo last week.