July 1-23 tourist arrivals top 100, 000

Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka in the first 23 days of July topped the 100, 000 mark, the data released by Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority showed.

During July 1-23 period, Sri Lanka has welcomed 104, 664 tourists, already higher than the 100, 388 visitors welcomed in the full month of June.

During the first three weeks of July, there has been a steady increase in tourist arrivals—28, 711 in first week, 31, 903 in second week and 34, 594 in the third week.

During the period, India emerged as the largest tourist traffic generator for Sri Lanka, accounting 17 percent of the total arrivals, while United Kingdom accounted for 12 percent as the second biggest market.

China, which opened borders early this year, accounted for seven percent of the tourist traffic as the third biggest source market for Sri Lanka, while Russian Federation and Germany accounted for five percent each.