The government has identified coastal towns of Vakarai in Batticaloa district and Pulmoddai in Trincomalee District, both in the Eastern Province, and Silavathurai in Mannar District in the Northwest as the new tourism zones.

Deputy Economic Development Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said the government is in the process of identifying land for two tourism zones in Silavathurai and Pulmoddai.

Once the land acquisition is completed we will commence the infrastructure development in the area before calling for bids, the Minister said.

The amount of investment expected to be generated through the new tourism zones in the North and East has still not been estimated, since the project is still at the initial stage.

According to Minister Abeywardena Sri Lanka has received US$ 523 million worth of investments in the tourism sector.