Arugam Bay
Conflict between fishing and tourism
During the period of fighting between the central government and Tamil separatists tourism was fairly low key and the hotels often bought the catch of the fishermen. As a result of the peace, tourism expanded and many fishing people who had moved to areas less touched by the conflict returned. Hotel owners began to complain about the smell of drying fish and how the fishing huts blocked their view. In the aftermath of the Tsunami fishing people were forbidden to return, officially on the grounds of safety but allegedly as a result of pressure from the hotel owners.
Surrounding areas
The nearby (4 kilometres (2.5 mi)) Muslim village of Pottuvil is the center of commerce and transportation while tourist accommodations lie along the beach to the south of Pottuvil Arugam Bay (4 kilometres (2.5 mi)) is also the gateway and the only road access to the Yala East National Park. In 2.2 kilometres (1.4 mi) distance there is Pasarichenai Beach. This area is known as Kumana (44 kilometres (27 mi)), to be reached via the Tamil/Sinhalese settlement of Panama (Sri Lanka) (17 kilometres (11 mi)) and the Tamil shires at Okanda (32 kilometres (20 mi)). The local area is home to a number of elephants, often travelling between Lahugala and Kumana national parks.
Surfing
Arugam Bay is a popular surfing location and is also the only international surf competition venue in Sri Lanka. It is also rated as one of the top ten surf destinations in the world. It has also hosted most of the international surfing competitions in Sri Lanka since 2004. It also hosted the So Sri Lanka Pro 2019.