Sri Lanka is wooing tourists fro the Middle East, said Tourism Deputy Minister Faiszer Musthapha, in an interview with Gulf News last weekend. "We have been focusing on the region for the last two to three years and it has paid dividends," the Minister added.

For 2006 and 2007, traffic from the region has grown at an annual rate of 30 per cent and for the first six months of this year the growth has maintained the same momentum, the he pointed out.

"Last year, we had about 20,000 Arab travellers and 30,000 expatriates of this region travelling to Sri Lanka," Musthapha said. "In terms of growth this has been the fastest growing market for our tourism industry when compared to other regions. Our promotion budget for the region has grown fivefold in the last two years."

Investments from the region to set up hotels and hospitality training schools are in the talks, he said.