Tourist arrivals exceed 329,000, dip expected

Tourist arrivals to date have exceeded 329,000 from January to April 8 this year according to the Tourism Development Authority. (SLTDA) In the first 18 days of April this amount was 43,761.

The main market was from the United Kingdom where there were 8,743 arrivals while India remained at number two 5,802. In addition 4,908 tourists from Germany and 2,759 Australia and 2,645 from France have arrived in the country. This averages around 4,000 to 5,000 of tourists per day.

“However currently Sri Lanka is witnessing a sharp drop in arrivals and the daily figure has slipped between 1,000 and 2,000 per day.” The Ministry of Tourism release attributes the ‘country situation in Sri Lanka’ as the main reason for this.

Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga says that in the future promotional steps are being taken to increase tourist arrivals and though no incidents targeting tourist were reported fresh steps would be taken to provide safety for tourists visiting Sri Lanka and allowing them to travel and enjoy the country without hindrance.