Arcadia cruise ship of UK's Carnival PLC was the first of the lineup that reached Colombo Port last week with 2100 tourists from Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil.

According to the Sri Lanka Port Authority officials, more than 20 such luxury carriers, coordinated by the Shipping Agency Services (Pvt) limited, had already been programmed to tie up in Colombo by the end of 2012.

Some of the international cruise lines already making regular calls in the island's ports include Carnival Cruises, Swan Hellenic and Crystal Cruises.

Sri Lanka used to attract about 130 cruise ships a year before the conflict but saw cruise calls falling by nearly half during the three-decade conflict.

Even during the conflict the country used to get about 65-75 cruise vessels a year, says Lanka Business Online.

Last year around 30 cruise lines have called at Sri Lankan ports.