Sri Lanka tops the “The Five Places That Stole My (Nikki Ekstein’s) Heart in 2018!”

Bloomberg magazine is the go-to source for the most relevant, insightful, and analytic information on capital markets, global economies and wealth. It’s Pursuits section reviews the world’s most tasteful, exclusive and luxurious experiences (and brands) for a sophisticated, intellectually curious readership.

While Sri Lanka as a destination has received much coverage in recent years, most of the focus has been on the same attractions – heritage sites, beaches and warm smiles. Recently however, Nikki Ekstein – an experienced writer and Bloomberg’s travel editor – dug deeper.

What she discovered was a Sri Lanka in the midst of redefining itself through the leadership shown Resplendent Ceylon and its founder Malik Fernando to evolve towards creating collections of evocative experiences that are carefully curated and linked through narrative, connectivity, conservation, and empowerment.

Here’s what she had to say:

1. Sri Lanka

There are so many reasons we travel: to get away, to expand our horizons, to spend time with family, to relax. Sri Lanka delivers on any of those counts, but it also goes so much deeper.

Sure, the beaches in Galle are as pristine as those anywhere in Southeast Asia. A safari drive through Yala National Park can get you leopard and elephant sightings, plus up-close-and-personal time with majestic peacocks and feisty macaques. And a lazy day in tea country can unlock meaningful conversations about civil war, social progress, and the power of tiny white-tipped plants to transform economies and lives. Seaplanes-and resorts by the trailblazing luxury hotelier Resplendent Ceylon-connect all these disparate locations into a tight and mesmerizing web, with facets so distinct it’s unclear how they all fit together on a single island.

It turns out that the connective tissue, though, is exactly what makes Sri Lanka so special. All around the country, tourism is unlocking tremendous opportunity; locals are invested in preserving and showcasing their culture and the natural assets they’ve been blessed with, and travel industry trailblazers such as Malik Fernando are giving them the toolkit and platform to do just that. It’s impossible to visit without becoming invested in the country’s upward mobility, to be moved by the community development and conservation initiatives pushing Sri Lanka forward, or to resist the temptation to extend your itinerary to see even more. Its abundance-of experiences, of generosity, of optimism-left me recharged, reinvigorated, and uplifted. In an era when so many of us travel just to get away from the daily grind of work and politics, nothing could be more impactful.

Read Nikkis’ full article here