21 February 2024 02:12 am Views - 1187
A group of tourists taking a breather from sightseeing in Colombo - Pic by Pradeep Pathirana
Sri Lanka’s tourism surge shows no sign of slowing down, with more than 138,000 international visitors exploring the island nation just in the first 18 days of February.
This figure already surpasses last year’s numbers for the entire month, when 107,639 tourists arrived, data from Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) showed. If this pace continues, Sri Lanka is poised to exceed 200,000 visitors for the third consecutive month.
The daily arrival average has increased to 7,707, while the weekly arrival is around 53,000 for the month of February so far.
In the first two weeks of February, in addition to air travel, visitors entered the country by sea as well.
For the month of February, Russia emerged as the largest source market for Sri Lanka tourism, accounting for 14 percent of the total tourist arrivals. However, according to industry sources, the income generated from this segment is not at expected levels.
India is the second largest tourist traffic generator for Sri Lanka for the month, bringing in 13 percent of the tourists for the month, whereas the United Kingdom ranks in third place, accounting for 10 percent of the arrivals.
Reports from SLTDA showed that majority of the tourists visit the island nation for leisure purposes. A minimal amount visits the country for business purposes. Sri Lanka is also stepping up efforts to push MICE tourism, as the segment spends almost three times more in comparison to leisure travellers, despite the numbers being smaller.