Case 334 - Tourism Development: A Path to Peace in Sri Lanka?

Manny Fassihi

Could Sri Lanka's tourism sector be a primary driver of economic development -- and a way to bring about a lasting peace? This case study looks at the early decision to pursue tourism as a driver of development in the 1950s, and follows the history of Sri Lanka and its tourism industry through 2016. 

In 2002, the government of Sri Lanka reached a breakthrough with the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) to bring the civil war, which had been going on for almost two decades, to a ceasefire. Bilateral and multilateral development agencies quickly looked to help the country rebuild, and developing the tourism sector was once again a primary economic development goal. The devastating 2004 tsunami and renewed fighting threatened these goals, however.