Tourism fast catching up

by Shirajiv SIRIMANE

The swine Flu epidemic would not have any negative impact on the Sri Lanka Tourism industry, said Chairman Sri Lanka Tourism, Bernard Gunatilake. He said that there have been no cancellations of bookings and Sri Lanka has also taken adequate measures to fight the virus.

Tourism is now reaping the benefits of peace as Sri Lanka's tourist arrivals jumped 28% in July from an year ago, its second straight rise since May last year. This follows an 8% rise in the month of June alone. "The leap is attributed to resolution of the conflict in the island,' he pointed out.

This is indeed a significant moment for us; Moving forward positively at such a rapid pace is truly remarkable, he further commented. Significant growth was recorded from Western Europe with France that was running on negative growth for the past couple of years, bouncing back with an 81% and Germany posting a 75% growth rates in July, 2009.

South Asia which registered growth figures of 39% when compared to the same period last year is the second highest growth region led by India recording a 45% growth rate this month while East Asia with a substantial 31% growth rate is the third highest growth region for in-bound tourism in Sri Lanka for July, 2009.

When contacted, Tourism Promotions Minister Faiszer Musthapha said that there is a rapid growth in the Middle East market. "There has been an unprecedented growth of 103.7 % when compared to July, 2008 from this sector," he said. This is the first time a 3 digit growth figure has been registered in the history of Sri Lanka Tourism, Musthapha, said, "On the advice of President Mahinda Rajapaksa a special 100% focus was given to the Middle East, which has resulted in positive growth. In keeping with the President's vision to attract regional partners, Sri Lanka Tourism has supplemented the traditional with regional markets and have increased our budgets and focus on this area," he stressed.