Sri Lanka has seen an upturn in tourist arrivals with the end of the war and hotels are anticipating full houses in the forthcoming winter season.
The Kalpitiya region is a new region for tourism development left largely untouched because of the war.
Most beach resort development has been on Sri Lanka’s south-west and southern coasts.
The government is now also trying to attract investors to build hotels in the east, known for some of the country’s best beaches, Goonetilleke said.
Dileep Mudadeniya, managing director of the Tourism Promotion Bureau, said the new hotels earmarked for Kalpitiya would be up-market ones with the aim of attracting high-spending tourists.
The rooms will be priced over 350 dollars each, he said. The project will also create thousands of jobs. Tourism promotion minister Faiszer Musthapha said the government will soon advertise the lease of f