Sri Lanka records a 24.1% increase in tourist arrivals in March with European tourist traffic reaching 53%
Sri Lanka’s Tourism Development Minister John Amaratunga has reportedly said that the growth of 24.1% shown in tourist arrivals to the country in March would continue to grow throughout the year.
“For the month of March we had an increase of over 24% in tourist arrivals despite the disturbance we had in Kandy. If we did not have that, we could have gone over 30%. This means that Sri Lanka will end this year, if all goes well, with close to three million arrivals, very close to our expectations,” Amaratunga has told journalists recently.
The Sri Lankan government earlier stated that the tourist arrivals for this year would be similar to 2017’s target of 2.5 million tourist arrivals.
However, the latest data released by Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) has recorded that tourist arrivals in March have increased by 24.1% to 233,382 from 188,076 in the corresponding month of last year.
According to reports, the total arrivals in the first three months were up 17.1% to 707,924. In February the increase was 19.3% and in January the increase was 12.6%.
Statistics reveal that India has regained its status as the number one source market in March, up 13% to 27,075 arrivals.
Traditional markets like the United Kingdom has followed second with a 56.1 % gain to 19,451, while Germany has remained third with arrivals increasing by 60.6% to15,207 by end March.
Chinese arrivals have recorded a 4.8% negative growth year on year to 22,172. In February which marked the Chinese New Year holidays, arrivals were 35,929.
Tourist arrivals from France were up 29.1% to 11,487 arrivals.
In terms of tourist arrivals by region, Europe continued to be the largest source of tourist traffic to Sri Lanka with 53% of the total traffic received in March 2018, while Asia and the Pacific accounted for 38%, America 7%, Middle East 1% and Africa 1%, reports state.
Minister Amaratunga has told the media that opportunities were bountiful is the tourist industry.
OSL take:
As stated by Sri Lanka’s Tourism Development Minister, opportunities are bountiful in the country’s tourism industry. A business/investor seeking a good business opportunity in Sri Lanka could explore investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tourism sector, which is recording continuous growth and poised for further growth. Sri Lanka is open for the latest developments in the global leisure and hospitality sector. Looking at the cross section of tourists arriving in Sri Lanka, it is clear that the country could venture further into new tourism concepts as well.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/18042018/Z_1 |