Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals hit a record high in the first 11 months of 2012, surpassing its annual peak recorded last year, government data showed yesterday.

The number of foreign visitors has jumped 16.5 percent on year to 883,353 in January-November, higher than the island nation’s record high arrivals of 855,975 hit in 2011.

The arrivals in November rose 20.1 percent to 109,202.

The number of visitors has risen year-on-year in the past 43 months since a 25-year civil war ended in May 2009.

The tourism board expects over one million tourists in 2012, yielding revenue of more than $1 billion, up from last year’s record $830.3 million.

Revenue from tourism rose 22.1 percent to $790.1 million in the first 10 months of 2012 from the same period last year. Tourism is one of the main foreign exchange earners for Sri Lanka’s US $59 billion economy, along with remittances from expatriate workers, garments and tea.

(Source : REUTERS)