Tourism to hit record US $ 450 m revenue

by Shirajiv SIRIMANE

Sri Lankan Tourism will hit a record US $ 450 million revenue target this year. This would be over 50 percent increase as against the previous year.

The Director General Sri Lanka Tourism said that the country would also have a record 600,000 tourist arrivals by the end of this year. The main reason for the increased arrivals and revenue is the restoration of peace which resulted in adverse travel advisories being taken off. In addition the well coordinated marketing efforts carried out by Sri Lanka Tourism also paid dividends.

It was pleasing to note that this 50 percent increase was seen in the off season and was mainly driven by Europe. The Middle East, a new market also generated a 65 percent increase while the German arrivals saw a 33 percent increase. The year 2004 was the best year for Sri Lanka tourism which saw the arrival of 556,000 visitors which generated US $ 434 million in revenue.