First ever Sri Lanka travel guide in Arabic by Emirati author launched at ATM 2010

The guide book titled "Sri Lanka: The Most Beautiful Island in the World," is a 205-page guide book on the island nation which has become a favoured travel destination for Gulf residents. The author, Heba, Al Mansoori, currently the Middle East director of the Sri Lanka Tourism and Promotion Bureau is a former broadcast and print journalist in Dubai. She holds a post graduate degree in mass communications.

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 travelling and was fascinated by stories on the wonders of Sri Lanka told to me by our house maid and gardener who both incidentally hail from Sri Lanka. I first visited the island with my whole family and I was totally enthralled by the experience and has since come back many times on holiday destination discovering more fascinating aspects of the country on each visit."

Ms. Al Mansoori said the book is a "labour of love" and proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to a charity. The initial print run of the book is 10,000 copies in both hard bound and soft bound copies which will soon be available in leading book stores in Dubai.

When commenting on the motivation for writing a book on Sri Lanka Ms Al Mansoori said: "Due to the many decades of ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, some Arab travellers have misconceptions about Sri Lanka that I would like to put to rest."

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," Ms Al Mansoori concluded.