Once the capital but now it is the Commercial Capital in short the metro, since the onus of a capital is shifted to Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, no so far form Colombo. Even though the State Parliament is shifted from at the latter, hive of all activities still go on and is thriving at the same. Hence, Colombo is referred to as the capital in the minds of the rest of the world and considered as the nerve centre of the country. Even the suburbs of it have a say in many affairs and activities. They are hubs for many businesses and administrative purposes.
It is a port city and that too the most important. Yet, Sri Lanka boasts of some of the most bustling port cities apart from Colombo that have fisheries as the main activity and also woo many a tourist to the beautiful coastal belt. The Harbour in tis metro berths ships of all types such as the cargo (mainly) and cruisers or luxury lines which is a recent development. Many large ships pass through the Colombo as the port is in a strategic location for sea routes from east to west and vice versa.
The tourists land at the Katunayake International Airport (KIA) that is a 40 minute drive along the recently erected Highway from Colombo- but its immediate city is of course is one of the popular tourists’ haunt, Negombo, yet another coastal town where fisheries thrive day and night. Along the coast towards the south of Colombo there are quite a number of beach resorts, fishing harbours, and lovely locations for tourism and water sports.
At dusk or after dark, the night life begins in Colombo and there are plenty of Night Clubs, Entertainment, Restaurants and eateries and busy well lit shopping arcades for a visitor to fill the evening. Most of the itineraries for visitors end n Colombo after a trip to the coasts or the interior hills and the wild, before embarking on the return flights for KIA. Shopping would be the top of the agenda if so for, Colombo has the latest and the best, to take home. Apparel and souvenirs are the ones which fill the bags. A Colombo City tour would take the visitors to important places such as the Museum, University, The Parliament, The Zoo etc. including shopping malls and this could be on the last day before departure.
Colombo being the commercial capital and the echelon for administration all the embassies and high commissions and also main or head offices of global companies are located here with all state-of-the-art equipment and networked IT systems. This helps especially business-based visitors to transit and yet be in touch with their headquarters around the globe. This is also one of the reasons for Colombo being the choice for many a global confabs whether political or corporate. Further, Colombo is also home for some of the best medical services and hospitals in he subcontinent. Never undermine its importance if meandering within South Asia.
