Problem of unregulated tourism

THERE was a social media uproar this week after a 26-year-old woman from Thailand was arrested for walking around topless in a popular tourist area in Arugam Bay.

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She was produced before the Potuvil magistrate court and handed down a five-year suspended prison sentence after pleading guilty to charges of indecent behaviour and causing a public disturbance.

A few weeks ago a similar incident took place in the area where a man was seen walking fully nude in the same area which led to some social media posts requesting tourists to stick to their bikinis at the beach and not when they go about town.

In the Southern Province which has been an area of attraction to Western tourists for decades, people seem more used to the trend but there too there are notices put up requesting that swimwear be confined to the beaches and not to other areas.