KUALA LUMPUR, January 2020: Sri Lanka is ranked first in the category of ‘Asia’s Best Nation for Wildlife Tourism’ by the Top 10 of Asia, a leading English-language lifestyle magazine published in Malaysia.
Based on a survey of Asian countries conducted by Top 10 of Asia, a magazine which is published by Research House of Asia Media, a Kuala Lumpur-based research and media organisation, Sri Lanka was ranked first among five shortlisted countries for the category of ‘Asia’s Best Nation for Wildlife Tourism’.
Awards were also given in nine other categories – Singapore – Asia’s Best First Impression Country, Japan – Asia’s Best Nation for Youth Development, Uzbekistan – Asia’s Best Nation for Historical Treasures, Thailand – Asia’s Top Nation for Medical Tourism, Maldives – Asia’s Best Nation for Scenic Adventures, The Philippines – Asia’s Nation with Best Holiday Beaches, Cambodia – Asia’s Best Nation for Archeology Tours, Nepal – Asia’s Best Nation for Mountaineering Adventures and Penang, Malaysia – Asia’s Most Liveable City.
In announcing the results of its research and survey, Top 10 of Asia said that Sri Lanka won the ‘Asia’s Best Nation for Wildlife Tourism’ award, as the island is home to some of the most amazing animals in the world including elephants, leopards and peacocks. The magazine noted that Sri Lanka has one of the highest rates of biological endemism (unique to a defined geographical location) – 16% of the fauna and 23% of the flora in Sri Lanka are endemic.
In addition to the botanical gardens – Royal Botanical gardens, Peradeniya and Hakgala Botanical gardens, Sri Lanka also boasts of several wildlife sanctuaries including the safari parks at Yala, Wilpattu, Wasgamuwa and Udawalawe, as well as the Kumana bird sanctuary and turtle hatchery of the west coast, which are popular tourist attractions.
Top 10 of Asia brings to its readers the vibrant faces and stories of success from all walks of Asian life, showcasing the crème de la crème of Asian companies and captains of industries, and of personalities and lifestyles through surveys, researches, interviews, and collaboration with local and international media powerhouses. The curation is an initiative to showcase Asia’s excellence in all its diversity including arts, literature, cultures, industries, personalities, lifestyles, innovations, tourism, governments and sports.
Winning the Top 10 of Asia award follows several other accolades that have given a huge boost to Sri Lanka’s tourism industry including being named as the best destination to travel to in 2019 by leading travel guide Lonely Planet and Caroline Jurie being crowned Mrs. World 2020 at the Mrs. World Pageant held recently in Las Vegas.
Top 10 of Asia awards ceremony
At the awards ceremony to honour the Top 10 of Asia winners, the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka, Kapila Jayampathy accepted the ‘Asia’s Best Nation for Wildlife Tourism’ award that was given away at the Top Asia Corporate Ball 2019, which was held in Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. Some 900 distinguished CEOs, business owners and personalities from 20 Asian countries attended the event including YB Tuan Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik, Malaysia’s Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts & Culture.
