South Asia's Latest Boomtown

It wasn't so long ago that tourists tried their best to avoid troubled Sri Lanka. Tour operators still remember the grim conditions of more than a decade ago when constant terrorist attacks led to wholesale cancellations. Less than two years ago, separatist guerrillas attacked the visitorpacked international airportblowing up half of all the national carrier's aircraft and killing 17 people. Asia offered other, safer sun-kissed destinations; travelers disparaged Sri Lanka as "the poor man's Bali."

Those roles are now reversed. Bali is trying to recover from the...