Hot Numbers - Sri Lanka tourist arrivals up 42% in May
Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka rose 42.3 percent to 35,213 in May 2010 from a year earlier with strong growth in South Asian and Western European markets, data from the island's tourism office showed.
The highest recorded tourist arrivals for the month of May were 43,825, achieved in 2006. In April 38,300 came to Sri Lanka.
Dileep Mudadeniya, Managing Director of SLTPB told reporters that for the first five months of 2010 the country recorded 233, 922 tourist arrivals, which is 48.5 percent higher from the same period of last year.
"This achievement is due to the ending of the 30-year-long bloody clash between the government troops and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) in May last year," Mudadeniya said.
He said the holding of the Indian International Film Academy awards in Sri Lanka and most European countries as well as the USA relaxing their travel advisories are among key reasons for the increase of tourist arrivals.
The Sri Lankan government expects to double its tourism income to 1 billion U.S. dollars by 2015 from the current level of around 400 million U.S. dollars.
It also aims to increase the tourist arrivals to 2.5 million by that time from 500,000 with the help of all promotional programs.
In May arrivals from Western Europe rose 32 percent to 10,577 at the end of the peak 'winter' season. Two of the biggest Western European markets, the United Kingdom sent 4,469 visitors in May, dipped 2.0 percent, and Germany sent 2,071 tourists, up 70.3 percent.
Eastern Europe generated 1,112 tourists, up 11 percent with Russian arrivals up 10.3 percent to 460.
Arrivals from the fast growing Middle East market rose 64.1 percent to 1,342, and East Asian arrivals were up almost 20 percent to 3,959. Arrivals from China were up 12.8 percent to 668.
Visitors from South Asia galloped 60.1 percent to 13,734 of which India generated 10,686 tourists, up 87.6 percent, Maldives 2,230, up 4.0 percent and Pakistan 590, down 1.5 percent. Australia generated 1,569 visitors, up 31.2 percent.
Sri Lanka has seen a revival in tourism after a 30-year war ended on May 18, 2009.
(Source: LBO and Xinhua – 07th June, 2010)