COLOMBO, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Tourism Promotion Bureau has introduced a "Buddhism Tourism Trail," a promotional website aiming to attract tourists from Thailand and other Theravada Buddhism countries, local media reported Tuesday.
Kshenuka Senewiratne, Sri Lanka's ambassador to Thailand, said the website was launched at the Thai International Travel Fair (TITF) held recently as about 90 percent of Thailand tourists were Theravada Buddhists.
Theravada, known as Southern Buddhism, is one of the oldest branch of Buddhism and focuses on the teachings of the Lord Buddha through strict meditation and the eightfold path to enlightenment, with the majority of followers in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.
Kshenuka said the website will focus on Buddhist tourist attractions such as ancient temples, Buddha statues and meditation centers in Sri Lanka.
For example, she said the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in the central highlands of Kandy, a resting place for Lord Buddha's tooth allegedly recovered from his funeral pyre is a popular destination for many Buddhist and foreign tourists.
Sri Lanka has in recent years transformed into a popular tourist destination with the highest number of tourists arriving from China, India and Britain.
