Tourist arrivals to top 700,000 this year

By Lalin Fernandupulle

The number of tourist arrivals recorded an impressive growth during the first three months of this year compared to last year, an official of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) said.

The number of tourist arrivals this year is expected to surpass 700,000. The number of arrivals rose from 46.2 percent to 74,197 in January, 14.8 percent to 65,797 in February and 43.5 to 75,130 in March according to SLTPB data.

The sources said that the number of arrivals has been on an upward trend since mid 2009 that marked the end of the battle against terrorism. Tourist arrivals rose this year due to the ‘Visit Sri Lanka’ campaign which is beginning to pay dividends to tourism.

According to the data the number of arrivals last month was the highest since December 2010 which had recorded 84,627.

The number of arrivals last year was 654,476. April has been declared as the month for people and culture under the Visit Sri Lanka Promotion Campaign. A different theme for each month has been given to woo more visitors to the country.

Western Europe is the key market for Sri Lanka and the number of arrivals during the first three months this year was 93,722, a 34 percent growth compared to the corresponding period in 2010.

The number of arrivals from January to February last year was 69,877.

The Asian market has been dominated by India with 13,619 arrivals in March 2011 and 8,607 in the corresponding month last year. The number of arrivals from the Maldives, Pakistan, Japan and Malaysia has shown an impressive growth this year.

The number of visitors from South Asia rose 41 percent to 52,548 during the first three months of this year compared to last year. The number of tourists during the first three months last year was 37,194.

“India is a major market for MICE tourism which is fast expanding following several international conferences and exhibitions held in the country”, sources said.

Meanwhile, plans are afoot to build a modern multi-purpose conference hall in Colombo to cater to MICE tourism in the country.

The General Manager, Sri Lanka Convention Bureau, Vipula Wanigasekera said a substantial investment has been made and work on the project will commence when a plot of land has been allocated.

The earnings from tourism increased to 64.6 percent to US$ 576 million in 2010 compared to US$ 350 million in 2009, a spokesman for the Central Bank said.

The minimum rate for hotel rooms was increased this year in line with the global fare structure to boost revenue to the industry. Sri Lanka tourism hopes to increase the number of rooms from around 14,000 to around 35,000 to meet the 2.5 million arrival target in 2016.

Sri Lanka launched a program last year to fast-track development in tourist locations in the East. Passekudah, Arugam Bay and Nilaveli are some of the best beaches popular for wind surfing, whale-watching and scuba diving.