Europe becomes largest source of tourist traffic to Sri Lanka in February 2020
Europe has reportedly become the largest source of tourist traffic to Sri Lanka with 60.1 percent of the total traffic received in February 2020.
The total number of international tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka during February 2020 was 207,507, which is a 17.7 percent decline in comparison to February last year.
This was revealed in the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) – Monthly Tourist Arrivals Report.
This month, the largest source market for tourists was India, followed by the United Kingdom and Russian Federation and almost 92 percent of tourists travelled by air to Sri Lanka.
Asia and Pacific had accounted for 31.2 percent of the total traffic, Americas 6.9 percent, Middle East 1.2 percent and Africa 0.6 percent, reports state.
In comparison to February last year the highest decline of 32.3 percent was recorded from the Middle East region while Asia and Pacific had recorded a decline of 31.3 percent. Americas had recorded a decline of 16.2 percent whereas Europe had recorded a decline of 8.2 percent.
All regions have recorded a decline in tourist travel most probably due to the outbreak of the COVID -19.
According to local media reports, arrivals from the Russian Federation have recorded an increase of 61 percent in comparison to February 2019 while tourist arrivals from China have recorded a decline of 92.5 percent in comparison to February 2019.
India, United Kingdom, Russian Federation, Germany and France were Sri Lanka’s top five international tourist generating markets in the month of February this year.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is on a continuous growth path. Despite external challenges like the corona outbreak, tourists continue to arrive in the country. Also, Sri Lanka continues to be listed as a must visit destination by many globally renowned travel publications. Many international hotel brands are also focused on opening up branches in Sri Lanka. All this has resulted in the expansion of business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20200310/Z_8 |