Tourist arrivals to exceed 950,000 next year

by Uditha KUMARASINGHE

The number of tourist arrivals in 2012 could exceed 950,000 with the increased arrivals from the traditional markets of South Asia and Western Europe and hitherto untapped markets such as East Asia and North America.

According to the document, Recent Economic Developments issued by the Central Bank initiatives such as resumption of the ferry service between Sri Lanka and India after 20 years would attract more Indian tourists.

The number of tourist arrivals increased by 34.3 percent to 598,006 during the first nine months of 2011 compared to the corresponding period in 2010.

The report said that earnings from tourism have increased by 48.1 percent to US$ 580 million in the first nine months in 2011 compared to the corresponding period in 2010. The average spending per tourist per night has increased to $ 97 for the period under review from $ 88 for the corresponding period in 2010.

The entry of luxury hotel chains with superior product and service standards and theme-based tourism launched by Sri Lanka Tourism will further strengthen the industry’s overall service delivery and Sri Lanka’s standing as a popular tourist destination, it said.

Hotels need to be concurrently upgraded to enable higher earnings over the short to medium-term to benefit from the growing tourist traffic. Given the rapid expansion, the industry will experience a shortage of trained staff. Hence there is an urgent need to train staff at all levels in the hospitality industry.