Imagine walking around Colombo and stumbling along a street lined with food stalls selling typical Arabic fare from kebabs to pita bread with hummus. Then imagine stores lining the streets teeming with Middle Eastern clothing, accessories, books and furnishings. Take a turn and stroll into a miniature Chinatown adorned with red paper lanterns, bilingual street signs and hawker stands serving steaming food. Sure, it might not rival the legendary Chinatown’s in San Francisco and New York which are bustling hubs of trade and cultural icons but something on a smaller and more moderate scale may not be far away if numbers of Middle Eastern, Chinese and even Indian tourists continue to rise.

Low cost Malaysian Airline, Air Asia has officially launched daily direct flights between Colombo and Kuala Lumpur.

 The official launching ceremony was held in Colombo this morning.

 At the launch, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Bernard Gunathilaka said the flight service will greatly facilitated measures  by the government to enhance the tourism sector .