The first ever travel guide on Sri Lanka in Arabic language penned by a UAE national was launched in 2010 and in eleven years more than 80,000 copies have been printed and sold . The book titled “Sri Lanka: The Most Beautiful Island in the World,” is a 205-page travel guide on the island nation which has become a favored travel destination for Arab travelers.
The author, Heba, Al Mansoori, a successful entrepreneur, a former broadcast and print journalist in Dubai and an avid traveler wrote this book after one of her many trips to the island nation. Ms Al Mansoori has a keen interest in social activity and charity work both within and outside the UAE and has visited Sri Lanka frequently over the years.
“I love traveling and was fascinated by stories on the wonders of Sri Lanka as narrated to me by our house maid and gardener who both incidentally hail from Sri Lanka. I first visited the island with my family decades ago and I was totally enthralled by the experience and have since come back many times on holiday discovering more fascinating aspects of the country on each visit.”
Ms. Al Mansoori said the book is a labor of love and proceeds from the sale of the book over the years have been donated to various charities. The initial print run of the book was 10,000 copies in hard back and soft back and they were sold from leading book stores in Dubai.
She noted that Sri Lanka is now on the threshold of developing to its full potential as a prime tourism destination offering diverse offerings for members of the whole family whether it is beaches, shopping, visits to wildlife reserves, relaxing at a spa, or simply enjoying the cuisine.
“With peace finally dawning on Sri Lanka after years of ethnic strife, more areas previously inaccessible have now opened up for tourism operation and post-COVID-19 we foresee a resurgence in travel to the island nation from the Arab region,” Ms Al Mansoori concluded.
