A senior delegation headed by MasterCard's Co-President - Asia Pacific, Ari Sarker and Executive Director - South Asia, Vikas Varma paid a courtesy visit to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe earlier this week. MasterCard reaffirmed its commitment to the Sri Lankan market and offered support to the government in its growth and development agenda. 

The annual MasterCard Global Destinations Cities Index recently ranked Colombo as leading the pack as the fastest growing city in terms of international, overnight visitor numbers. It added that the rapid rise in tourism after the end of Sri Lanka’s long running civil war brought about Colombo’s double-digit cumulative annual growth rate over the last six years. Seven of the top ten fastest growing cities by visitor number over this period are in Asia.