1. Colombo ranked world’s fastest growing city
Sri Lanka’s capital city Colombo has been placed on top of the list of fastest growing cities in the world, an annual travel study by the MasterCard stated.
Among the 10 fastest growing cities in the world -based on data gathered over the last six years-, seven are in Asia.
Colombo is first in growth with a staggering 21% surge, with Chengdu, the capital of China’s Sichuan province, following in second.
Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, ranked third in terms of growth; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, placed fifth.
Houston is the fastest growing city in North America since 2009 and is the only city in the United States to register double-digit growth over that period.
MasterCard has just released its annual travel study, the Global Destination Cities Index, ranking 132 destination cities around the world in terms of total international overnight visitor arrivals and cross-border spending.
The MasterCard Index of Global Destination Cities ranks cities in terms of the number of their total international overnight visitor arrivals and the cross-border spending by these same visitors in the destination cities, and gives visitor and passenger growth forecasts for 2015.
Fastest growing tourist cities
1. Colombo, Sri Lanka 21.1%
2. Chengdu, China 20.7%
3. Abu Dhabi, UAE 20.4%
4. Osaka, Japan 19.8%
5. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 18.0%
6. Xi An, China 16.2%
7. Taipei, Taiwan 14.9%
8. Tokyo 14.6%
9. Lima, Peru 13.9%
10. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 12.9%
| 2. Financial Times |
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Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara most competitive Sri Lankan cities
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| By Jagdish Hathiramani |
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The Colombo Metropolitan Region (CMR), comprising the Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara districts, encompasses the top three performing cities respectively in terms of national competitiveness, according to a recent survey of 14 Sri Lankan cities.
At the other end, the city with the lowest overall score is Trincomalee. This determination was made after a study of six performance indicators in each of the country’s 14 major cities. The indicators were: 1). Cost of Doing Business; 2). Dynamism of Local Economy; 3). Human Resources and Training; 4). Infrastructure; 5). Responsiveness of Local Government Units to Business Needs; and 6). Quality of Life.
This data was part of a Cities Competitiveness Analysis which is the cornerstone of the Clustered Cities Development (CCD) project, an Asian Development Bank initiative currently being researched in Dhaka (Bangladesh), Delhi (India) and Colombo. Colombo-specific research for this project was presented by its local facilitators, Sevanatha Urban Resource Centre, at the project’s Second Round Table held at Water’s Edge recently. The event featured the participation of a diverse group of senior personnel from several public and private enterprises including the Ministries of Environment and Urban Planning, the Central Bank, the University of Moratuwa, the Colombo Municipal Council, the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF), the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL) and the Board of Investment (BOI) amongst others.
The objective of the research into the project is to look at how to foster Clustered City Developments, with the expectation that clustered cities allow for improved competitiveness and sustainable development through the achievement of better economic and physical planning for cities. This new approach to city planning is an effort to curb chronic problems such as overcrowding, the need for new land to grow, traffic and environmental concerns by proactively planning for the future, creating a new image for Sri Lanka, adopting new aspirations for inhabitants and competing globally. This is especially important as the population of CMR is expected to swell to 8 million people in 2030 from current estimates of 5 million.
The ultimate goal of the project is to incorporate Clustered City Developments into the city planning process allowing for collaborative advantage to be achieved. Presently, following several focus group discussions, there have been several industry sectors recommended as areas for future growth based on high consistent growth patterns visible in the last 10 years. These will ideally be the focus for government resources in the future. These industries include IT and education, financial services and insurance, shipping and aviation and tourism.
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Colombo City 