China back among top 3 tourist source markets of Sri Lanka

• India continues to dominate as largest source market
• Russian Federation slips to fifth position 

The most recent information released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) showed a substantial increase in the number of Chinese tourists visiting Sri Lanka. 
Between the first 11 days of July, Sri Lanka witnessed a total of 46,635 arrivals, out of which 2,893 were Chinese tourists. 
This indicates that Chinese tourists accounted for approximately 6 percent of the total arrivals during this period, positioning China as the third-largest contributor to tourist traffic for the island nation.
Following the reopening of China’s borders earlier this year, the country has progressively permitted its citizens to engage in outbound tourism to specific destinations. 
Among these selected destinations, Sri Lanka has emerged as a prominent choice for Chinese tourists seeking travel opportunities.
Sri Lanka also carried out targeted promotional efforts to cater to the pent-up demand, following the lifting of the virus-related travel restrictions.
In 2018, China was the second largest tourist traffic generator for Sri Lanka and in 2019, it slipped to the third position. In 2020, the year of the pandemic, China further fell to the 
fifth rank. 
Due to China’s strong zero-Covid-19 policy, no Chinese tourist arrivals were recorded in any part of the world until 2023.
Meanwhile, the Russian Federation, which topped the source market list since Sri Lanka opened the borders for tourism, has fallen to the fifth position in July, accounting for 6 percent or 2,599 arrivals.

India dominates the list as the largest source market for Sri Lanka, accounting for 18 percent or 8,169 arrivals, whereas the United Kingdom ranks the second, bringing in 10 percent or 4,474 arrivals.
The other key markets include the Maldives, France, Australia, Canada and the United States.
The provisional data from the SLTDA showed that with the July performance so far, the number of international visitors entering the country from January 01 to July 11 stood at 671,509.
In the first week of July, Sri Lanka welcomed 28,711 international visitors. This included the delegation that arrived from India in that week for the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) Convention, held in Colombo, last week. (SAA)