Tourist arrivals rise during festive season

by Lalin FERNANDOPULLE

The number of tourist arrivals is on the rise as hotels are preparing to celebrate Christmas and New Year on a grand scale, said a top official of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB).

Tourist arrivals are expected to reach around 830,000 by the end of the month according to Sri Lanka Tourism Research Division statistics.

The number of arrivals up to mid-December was 773,458 dominated by Western Europe and Asian markets.

Hotels have organised a series of programs for visitors during the festive season.

Hotel occupancy rates are currently over 80 percent in most hotels which have offered attractive tour packages for the festive season.

"Hotel occupancy rates could hit 85 percent during the festive season due to the increase in the number of rooms which is around 21,600," Research Division sources said.

Tourist arrivals during the first 10 months this year crossed the 2010 record, as the number of visitors continued to rise every month on a year-on-year basis.

Tourist arrivals in the first 10 months recorded 34.2 percent to 667,569 from a year earlier, higher than arrivals of 654,476 reached last year.

The arrivals rose 32.8 percent in October from a year earlier to 69,563, according to Sri Lanka Tourism data.

The Government is targeting an annual revenue of $2.75 by 2016 from 2.5 visitors attracted by Sri Lanka's beaches, hills and religious and historic sites, while aiming at $3 b in foreign direct investment.

Sri Lanka Tourism has forecast 20 percent growth in visitor arrivals this year to over 780,000 people. Last year, the industry grew at 46 percent.

The island's tourism industry drew $1.2 b for investment in the first half of 2011.

Tourism revenue, which jumped 64.8 percent in 2010 to a record $575.9 m, has risen 48.1 percent in the first nine months of this year from a year earlier to $580.1 m, Central Bank data shows.

Sri Lanka aims at attracting $2.7 b in investment to upgrade its tourism capacity.