Robert Kelly Slater is an American professional surfer, best known for being crowned World Surf League champion a record 11 times. Slater is widely regarded as the greatest professional surfer of all time, and holds 56 Championship Tour victories. He won the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year four-times. Slater is also the oldest surfer still active on the World Surf League, winning his 8th Billabong Pipeline Masters title at age 49.
Sri Lanka is a popular tourist destination. Tourism is a key industry that attracts international tourists yearly. Foreigners visit Sri Lanka to see nature, wildlife, historical monuments, and indigenous culture. In 2018, tourist arrivals peaked at 2.5 million, who spent a total of US$5.6 billion in the country. However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused tourist numbers to decrease by 92% in 2020. As of 2022, tourist numbers have not rebounded from the pre-crisis high. The government is attempting to attract foreign investment in the country's tourism industry, which began in earnest after the end of the Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009.
Hikkaduwa is a coastal town in south-west of Sri Lanka. It's a world famous beach holiday destination, well known for its scenic beaches, coral reef sanctuary, surfing and nightlife.
Surf culture includes the people, language, fashion, and lifestyle surrounding the sport of surfing. The history of surfing began with the ancient Polynesians. That initial culture directly influenced modern surfing, which began to flourish and evolve in the early 20th century, with its popularity peaking during the 1950s and 1960s. It has affected music, fashion, literature, film, art, and youth jargon in popular culture. The number of surfers throughout the world continues to increase as the culture spreads.
Marco Jay Luciano "Mark" Occhilupo is an Australian professional surfer and winner of the 1999 ASP World title.
Arugam Bay, known locally as "Arugam Kudah", is situated on the Indian Ocean in the dry zone of Sri Lanka's southeast coast, and a historic settlement of the ancient Batticaloa Territory. The bay is located 117 kilometres (73 mi) south of Batticaloa, 320 kilometres (200 mi) due east of Colombo, and approximately 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) south of the market town of Pottuvil. The main settlement in the area, known locally as Ullae, is predominantly Muslim, however there is a significant Sri Lankan Tamil and Sinhala population to the south of the village, as well as a number of international expatriates, largely from Europe and Australia. While traditionally fishing has dominated the local economy, tourism has grown rapidly in the area in recent years. Arugam Kudah's literal Tamil translation is "Bay of Cynodon dactylon". Tourism in Arugam Bay is dominated by surf tourism, thanks to several quality breaks in the area, however tourists are also attracted by the local beaches, lagoons, historic temples and the nearby Kumana National Park. Much of the bay, as well as the neighbouring town of Pottuvil, were destroyed in the 2004 Tsunami.
River surfing is the sport of surfing either standing waves, tidal bores or upstream waves in rivers. Claims for its origins include a 1955 ride of 2.4 km (1.5 mi) along the tidal bore of the River Severn.
Palabuhanratu or Pelabuhan Ratu is a district and fishing town which serves as the regency seat of Sukabumi Regency. It is at the southwest coast of Palabuhanratu Bay, West Java facing the Indian Ocean. It is a four-hour drive from Bandung and up to a 12-hour drive from Indonesia's capital Jakarta due to traffic jams in Ciawi, Cicurug, Cibadak and Pelabuhan Ratu gate, whose residents love to visit the bay 'Teluk Palabuhanratu', once named 'Wijnkoopersbaai' by the Dutch. The bay is shaped like a horseshoe and has enormous waves that can be very treacherous. The Sundanese locals say that the Indian Ocean is the home of Nyai Loro Kidul who reigns along the southern coast of Java.
Weligama is a town on the south coast of Sri Lanka, located in Matara District, Southern Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. The name Weligama, literally means "sandy village" which refers to the area's sandy sweep bay. It is approximately 144 kilometres (89 mi) south of Colombo and is situated at an elevation of 9 metres (30 ft) above the sea level.
Chile has many beaches for surfing, especially in the northern region where the weather conditions attract many surfers from all over the world. Except for the winter months surfing is possible all year. The water temperature ranges from 15 to 20 °C. Although the waves in central Chile are bigger, the waves in the north are stronger and are usually better suited for surfing. The cold waters of central and southern Chile can be brutal to surf, therefore, surfers adventuring into those areas are strongly advised on using a protective wetsuit to protect against the elements.
Ahangama is a coastal town in Galle District, Southern Province of Sri Lanka. It is approximately 18 km (11 mi) east of Galle. The A2 highway passes through the town.
Pecatu is a village (desa) in South Kuta, Bali, Indonesia. Located in the western side of the Bukit Peninsula, its hilly landscape creates smaller, more isolated beaches than at Nusa Dua on the eastern side of the peninsula. It is popular with surfers and also with nudists. The Uluwatu Temple is also located at Pecatu.
The North Shore, in the context of geography of the Island of Oʻahu, refers to the north-facing coastal area of Oʻahu between Kaʻena Point and Kahuku. The largest settlement is Haleʻiwa.
Surfline is a company and website based in Huntington Beach, California that specializes in surf forecasting and surf reports, live webcasting, photography, videography, as well as editorial coverage of the sport of surfing. Surfline.com is now ranked 1,180 in the US and 5,784 in the world in terms of popularity compared to other websites and is now the largest provider of streaming HD coastal cams. Since 2003 it has taken on buoyweather.com and fishtrack.com (2012), on average the family of websites receives 175,000 visitors per day. The site includes streaming video, surf reports and forecasts. Surfline.com offers over 500 streaming cameras at 150 surf breaks, and is one of the larger surf cam websites. Surfline currently has approximately 50 employees.
Ecuador has many beaches for surfing: the coast of Ecuador is 2,237 km long. Surfable waves are available in Ecuador year-round, and surfers enjoy the mild year-round weather, especially in the northern region where the weather conditions attract many surfers from all over the world. Within this part of South America, Ecuador's neighbors Chile and Peru also offer great surfing. Many surfers in Ecuador use a protective wetsuit. Surf tourism is very important to the local economy, and the beaches offer significant enjoyment because of top quality waves combined with affordable prices for lodging and food compared to other surf destinations. There's also a national marine reserve off the coast, which has a gigantic whale population.
Introduced to Indonesia in the 1930s, surfing now attracts both Indonesian and foreign surfers to numerous locations across the nation.
The So Sri Lanka Pro 2019 was a surfing competition which was held as a part of the World Surfing League Qualifying Series 3000. This was the second edition of the Sri Lanka Pro League and it was also the first such event to be conducted since 2011 after 8 years. It was held from 25 September to 29 September in Arugam Bay coinciding the World Tourism Day on 27 September. The event featured 124 competitors from 24 nations including the retired former world champion Mark Occhilupo. The event was titled as So Sri Lanka which is also used as a slogan to promote tourism industry in Sri Lanka by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau from 2018. Sri Lankan Airlines is the official airline partner for the series.
Coconut Tree Hill is a lateritic headland in Mirissa, Sri Lanka located adjacent to the Indian Ocean. It is a popular tourist destination in the country and is located at a headland with a coconut plantation. Coconut Tree Hill, despite being located on privately owned lands, is one of the most Instagrammed locations in Sri Lanka. In 1881, Ernst Haeckel portrayed Mirissa "red cliffs" in the sunset in his book, A visit to Ceylon and described "they seem to burn like coal...". The hill has been recommended as a place to observe the sunrise for the tourists. The hill is located on the Mirissa beach which is contiguous to Weligama across the Weligama bay. Mirissa beach has been described as one of the "secret beaches" in the world.
Surfing in Morocco forms a part of the country's tourism sector.
