Kalpitiya is now developing as a tourist destination. It has a marine sanctuary with a diversity of habitats ranging from bar reefs, flat coastal plains, saltpans, mangroves swamps, salt marshes, and vast sand dune beaches. It provides nursing grounds for many species of fish and crustaceans. The coastal waters are also home to spinner, bottlenose, and Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, whales, and sea turtles. Alankuda is a stretch of beach in Kalpitiya that is home to a number of beach hotels. The beach is a starting point for off-shore whale and dolphin watching in Kalpitiya and offers various water-related activities.
Kalpitiya beach is known as being the best location for Kitesurfing in the country. The summer kitesurfing season is from May to October during the southwest monsoon while the winter season is from mid-December to mid-February during the northeast monsoon. Kiteboard Tour Asia held a tour event in Kalpitiya in September 2017.
