The BBC in its global coverage, ‘The CEO Edit’ interviewed Sri Lanka Tourism Chairperson Kimarli Fernando recently on the island’s strategy for post-Covid tourism and how the destination is gearing up for the new normal.

Ms. Fernando said that with the important role the tourism sector plays in the economy of Sri Lanka, it became critical to re-envisage the industry. One of the key pillars in the restructuring has been technology and technology backed initiatives such as live-streaming local attractions to global audiences to keep the dream about Sri Lanka alive. Greater digitalization efforts have seen registrations of industry members become a smooth online process while hotel school students continued their curriculum online without disruption.

In the interview with BBC host Tanya Beckett, the Chairperson said that she was focused on driving partnerships to build authentic experiences. The expectations of international travellers have changed and Sri Lanka Tourism has geared its offering to meet the needs of post-Covid tourism by factoring in health and wellness, sustainability and non-commercial experiences.BBC Travel too carried an article, ‘The Unsolved Mystery of Sri Lanka’s Stargate’ by Demi Perera. The journalist describes a chart-like carving in Anuradhapura which is being speculated to be a ‘stargate’ by netizens. A stargate is an ancient gateway which some believe through which humans can enter the universe. The article states that it is to be found at Sri Lanka’s sacred city of Anuradhapura, an UNESCO World Heritage Site and the first established kingdom on the island in 377 BC, which is at the heart of Sri Lanka’s Buddhist culture. Sri Lanka’s enigmatic alleged ‘stargate’ remains shrouded in mystery, its purpose and meaning still lost to time, notes the writer, and adds that the chart’s newly acquired fame is expected to draw sci-fi enthusiasts to the island in the future.