Leading tourism as a vital engine to help the island recover from its worst floods in decades, veteran cricketer Kumar Sangakkara has urged foreign tourists to return to Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a video message posted on social media, the former national captain reflects on the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditva in late November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The storm caused widespread landslides and flooding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It affected 2.2 million people across 25 districts, leaving more than 600 dead and many more missing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI assure you that Sri Lanka is open, safe and ready to welcome all foreigners who are wondering, \u2018Should I come to Sri Lanka?\u2019,\u201d Sangakkara says in his video. \u201cWhen you travel, you support local communities and help move our country forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On November 29, the government declared a nationwide state of emergency, and the tourism sector says the country is returning to normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Essential services, including the international airport and major roads, are fully operational.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many cultural sites, such as the Sigiriya Fortress and the southern coastal beaches, were minimally affected or have already reopened to visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) reported that the cyclone inundated about 20% of the country\u2019s land area, damaging more than 100,000 homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Economic analysts estimate that the initial damage to infrastructure and livelihoods exceeded US$5 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur spirit has not changed,\u201d Sangakkara says in his appeal. \u201cThat resilience, that quiet strength is who we are\u2026 together we will rebuild.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau confirmed this week that over 70,000 tourists arrived in the first half of December, demonstrating continued tourism confidence despite the recent disaster.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Leading tourism as a vital engine to help the island recover from its worst floods in decades, veteran cricketer Kumar Sangakkara has urged foreign tourists to return to Sri Lanka. In a video message posted on social media, the former national captain reflects on the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditva in late November. The storm…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":10428,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,60,57],"tags":[2329,2330,790,73,134,72],"class_list":["post-10427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cricket","category-international-cricket","category-national-cricket","tag-come-to-lanka","tag-cyclone-ditva","tag-kumar-sangakkara","tag-slsports","tag-sports-news","tag-sri-lanka-cricket"],"yoast_head":"\n