Tourist arrivals top 96,000 in Feb.

• Arrivals continue towards positive growth trajectory
• Average daily arrivals increase to 3,446, from 2,655 in Jan.
• Russia, India, UK emerge as top source markets 
• Uncertainty grows over tourist arrivals for March with ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict
• Scrapping of pre-departure COVID-19 tests could help arrivals to pick up

By Shabiya Ali Ahlam
The tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka for the month of February topped 96,000, recording an increase of 17 percent from the previous month. 

February arrivals totalled 96,507 and had an average daily arrival rate of 3,446 for the 28 days of the month. In January, the total number of arrivals was 82,327, where the average daily arrival was 2,655. 
From January 1 to February 28, a total of 178,834 international visitors entered the country. 

The month-on-month growth in tourist arrivals continues to move in the positive direction, owing to the successful vaccination drive and easing of health guidelines across the world.  The highest number of arrivals was observed in the weekend (Saturday, February 12 and Sunday, February 13), leading to the Valentine’s Day (Monday, February 14). 

The Russian Federation emerged as the largest source market, accounting for 29.8 percent of the total arrivals.
India ranked as the second largest tourist traffic generator, with 25.3 percent arrivals and the UK ranked the third, accounting for 18.7 percent of the total source market. 

Germany and Ukraine emerged as the fourth and fifth largest source markets for Sri Lanka Tourism, with 13,119 and 13,062. Other notable markets include France, Poland, Kazakhstan, Australia and the Maldives. 

 However, for the month of March, it remains uncertain whether the positive trend will continue, as arrivals from the Russian Federation and Ukraine are expected to dip significantly, due to the current conflict between the two countries.  Last week, Ukraine closed its airspace for civilian flights. A number of countries have banned flights from Russia and Russia has responded in similar fashion by banning its airspace for over 36 countries.

However, there is some hope for the possible gap created by Russia and Ukraine to be filled by alternative source markets, as Sri Lanka announced the scrapping of the requirement of a negative COVID-19 test for fully vaccinated travellers.  The move was made after Dubai, the UAE, Maldives and India removed the need for pre-departure COVID-19 tests for those vaccinated against COVID-19, with the recommended doses.