Sri Lanka welcomed 63,491 tourists in the first half of October, in continuing with the slowdown in tourist arrivals, ahead of the winter season, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) data showed.

From October 07 to 15, the tourist arrival average was 4169.4 tourists per day, down from the daily average of 4327.6 tourists during the first six days of the month but marginally up from 4071.3 tourists recorded for September this year.  The tourist arrivals grew at the slowest pace in September, with a 9.11 percent year-on-year growth rate.

The daily average of tourist arrivals for the first half of the month stood at 4232.73 tourists.

India continued to account for the largest source of arrivals in the period, with 18,078 arrivals, followed by 4,504 and 4,495 arrivals from China and the UK. Germany, Russia and Australia occupied the fourth, fifth and sixth positions accordingly.

Meanwhile, the cumulative tourist arrivals reached 1,548,299 tourists. India took the top spot, with 304,634 and the UK remained as the second largest source market, with 140,959 arrivals, followed by Russia, with 130,701 arrivals. 

According to the historical data, Sri Lanka attracts few more thousand tourists in October compared to September.  The SLTDA forecasted 155,070 tourist arrivals for October. (NF)