Sri Lanka welcomes 22,896 international tourists in first week of September

• Cumulative tourist arrivals for the period January  1 - September 6 stand at 927, 214, nearing the 1mn milestone

Sri Lanka welcomed a total of 22,896 tourists for the first six days of September, fulfilling 19 percent of the target set for the month. Sri Lanka aims to draw at least 120,201 international visitors for the month of September.

Based on the provisional data released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLDTA), the cumulative tourist arrival for the period January  1 - September 6 stood at 927, 214, nearing the 1 million milestone.

The daily arrival average in the six days of September is 3,816. The composition of the top source markets for Sri Lanka has changed with China slipping away from the third position, moving to the sixth. China contributed to 5 percent of the total arrivals for the month of September so far, bringing in 1,114 tourists.

India and the United Kingdom retained their position as the first and second largest tourist traffic generators for Sri Lanka, accounting for 27 percent (6,188), and 7 percent (1,693) of the total arrivals so far for the month.

While Germany ranked in the third position, bringing in 7 percent (1,513) visitors, the Russian Federation moved up to the fourth position, accounting for 6 percent of the total arrivals (1,434).