The hub that is not on the list yet
Trincomalee and the east
Trincomalee and the east, where the resource is the finest natural harbour in the Bay of Bengal, and the hub is the sea: sailing, diving, the wrecks and the whales.
Why a hub
The country funnels its visitors through a handful of small heritage cores, most of them in the Cultural Triangle. That funnel is the problem when the cores are turnstiles. It is the answer when each core becomes a hub: the place where the region's own resource is grown, made, shown and sold, with a making-house at the gate where the visitor watches the work and buys it from the hands that did it. Sri Lanka House in Colombo is the model; these are the regional editions. A hub is also the one place in its region where the rules are visibly kept: clean, priced, and honest, with a complaints line that answers. Every one of the five hundred belongs to at least one hub.
Sri Lanka House in Colombo, the model every hub is a regional edition of
The clusters this hub is built from
13
The sea
An ocean eight times the size of the land, and a fishing fleet that sells its catch on the beach. The Maldives built a...
20 ideas, 251 to 270
26
The cities, one idea each
Every city has one thing it could be known for, and each is currently known for nothing in particular.
10 ideas, 476 to 485
25
Sport and the cricket economy
The country's best-known export is cricket, and little of the business around it is built at home.
10 ideas, 466 to 47547 ideas that belong here
Every idea in the hub's clusters, plus any idea elsewhere in the list that names this place.
- 17Surf lodges at Arugam Bay and Weligama run to the standard of Bali, with lessons and board hireCluster 1: Stay longer (the $2.4 billion gap)
- 251Sailing charters and a yacht marina at Galle or Trincomalee, with the crew trained hereCluster 13: The sea
- 252Diving schools at the wrecks of Trincomalee and the reefs of the east, certified to international standardCluster 13: The sea
- 253Sport fishing charters with catch-and-release, sold to the Gulf and EuropeCluster 13: The sea
- 254Sea-cucumber and seaweed farming in the northern lagoons, which Japan and Korea buyCluster 13: The sea
- 255Tuna graded, loined and vacuum-packed at the harbour for the sashimi market, not sold wholeCluster 13: The sea
- 256Crab and prawn from the lagoons as a branded chilled export, with the lagoon's nameCluster 13: The sea
- 257Dried fish and Maldive fish for Sri Lankans abroad, packed to a food-safety standardCluster 13: The sea
- 258Boat-building in fibreglass and wood for the region, from the yards that already existCluster 13: The sea
- 259Coastal clean-up businesses paid by the hotels, with the plastic sold on for recyclingCluster 13: The sea
- 260Blue-whale watching from Mirissa and Trincomalee with a code of conduct and a limit on boatsCluster 13: The sea
- 261Beach-hut cafés run to a standard, licensed, with the sanitation that the beaches lackCluster 13: The sea
- 262Surfboard shaping and repair workshops on the east and south coastsCluster 13: The sea
- 263Snorkelling reef guides trained in marine biology, at Pigeon Island and HikkaduwaCluster 13: The sea
- 264Fish-market tours at Negombo at dawn with breakfast after, the way Tokyo sold TsukijiCluster 13: The sea
- 265Lighthouse-keeper stays, since the lighthouses are there and emptyCluster 13: The sea
- 266Mangrove nurseries selling seedlings to the hotels and the state for coastal protectionCluster 13: The sea
- 267Ice plants at every fishing harbour run as a service, so the catch does not spoil before the saleCluster 13: The sea
- 268Fish-leather and fish-skin products from the waste of the processing plantsCluster 13: The sea
- 269Marine research stations that host foreign universities for a feeCluster 13: The sea
- 270Ferry and sea-plane services between the coastal towns, the way islands elsewhere connect their coastCluster 13: The sea
- 328A college teaching foreign degrees in Jaffna and one in the east, since Colombo has them allCluster 16: Education and the exam funnel
- 466Cricket academies for the children of Sri Lankans abroad and the world's, in the school holidaysCluster 25: Sport and the cricket economy
- 467Coaching exports: Sri Lankan coaches contracted to clubs abroad through one agencyCluster 25: Sport and the cricket economy
- 468Cricket tourism packages built around the international calendar and the domestic groundsCluster 25: Sport and the cricket economy
- 469Surf competitions on the east coast on the world calendarCluster 25: Sport and the cricket economy
- 470Marathon and trail-running events in the hills and the ancient cities, with the medal worth keepingCluster 25: Sport and the cricket economy
- 471Sports-physio and rehabilitation clinics serving the touring teams and the visitorsCluster 25: Sport and the cricket economy
- 472Equipment manufacturing: bats, balls and kit, which India does and we do notCluster 25: Sport and the cricket economy
- 473School-sport leagues sponsored by the businesses in this listCluster 25: Sport and the cricket economy
- 474Golf packages at the hill courses, priced for the Asian marketCluster 25: Sport and the cricket economy
- 475Rowing, kayaking and sailing clubs on the reservoirs and the harbours, open to visitorsCluster 25: Sport and the cricket economy
- 476Colombo: a night market on the Galle Face green run to a standard, every weekendCluster 26: The cities, one idea each
- 477Colombo: the Pettah as a managed market street, cleaned, lit and sold to visitors as the best bazaar in AsiaCluster 26: The cities, one idea each
- 478Kandy: the lake promenade with cafés and evening performances, not only the templeCluster 26: The cities, one idea each
- 479Galle: a residents' company that owns the Fort's tourist lets and keeps the residents inCluster 26: The cities, one idea each
- 480Jaffna: a culinary capital, the crab and the palmyrah sold as a cuisineCluster 26: The cities, one idea each
- 481Trincomalee: the harbour as a sailing and diving centre for the Bay of BengalCluster 26: The cities, one idea each
- 482Negombo: the fish market and the canals as Sri Lanka's Venice, done before the residents leaveCluster 26: The cities, one idea each
- 483Nuwara Eliya: a cool-climate wellness and tea town, not a faded hill stationCluster 26: The cities, one idea each
- 484Anuradhapura: a pilgrim city with lodging, food and interpretation to match its sacrednessCluster 26: The cities, one idea each
- 485Hambantota: an industrial estate for the processors in this listCluster 26: The cities, one idea each
- 489Batticaloa lagoon tourism: the singing fish, the kayaks, the prawns, sold as a weekCluster 27: The north and the east
- 490Technical colleges in Jaffna and Batticaloa funded by families abroad, with the employers at the tableCluster 27: The north and the east
- 491Trincomalee's Dutch fort and Koneswaram as one managed site, with a shop and a guide serviceCluster 27: The north and the east
- 492Passikudah as a family resort town with the standard set by the residents, not the chainsCluster 27: The north and the east
- 495A returnee service for the north and the east: permits, the tax office and the school, in one visitCluster 27: The north and the east