Two Sri Lanka beaches make top grade: Forbes

July 21, 2010 (LBO) - A beach stretch from Tangalle Bay to Weligama in Sri Lanka's south and Bentota in the southwest have been named among the top 10 in Asia by Forbes, a business magazine.





Sri Lanka is expecting 600,000 tourists this year and 2.

5 billion by 2016. The New York Times has named Sri Lanka the number one holiday destination for the year.

The beaches were judged by a panel which included Graham Uden, a photographer based in Hong Kong and John Borthwick, a Sydney-based travel writer and photographer.

"Sri Lanka has beautiful beaches on its southwest coast, from the southern tip up towards Colombo," Frobes quoted Uden as saying.

"It's a beautiful coastline with rugged rocks, plus sandy beaches and coconut groves.

There are fisherman that stand on poles. They stand there for hours, just fishing from these poles.









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A 30-year war which hit the tourism industry only ended last year. The island attracted 447,000 tourists including business visitors and regional tourists who are not necessarily interested in beaches.

Most beaches even in relatively popular areas are not crowded and

"What characterizes these beaches is that they are undeveloped, tranquil and