SL struggles to surpass 50,000 tourist arrivals in first 13 days of June

Sri Lanka struggled to cross the 50,000 mark in tourist arrivals in the first 13 days of June, recording 43,227 tourist arrivals in the period and further distancing from the 2.3 million arrival target set for the year.

In the 13-day period, the daily tourist arrival average plummeted to 3325.15, from 3617.03 in May and 4967 in April. Typically, Sri Lanka recorded the lowest tourist arrivals in May, as the lean season kicked in.
However, if the current daily arrival trend continues to the rest of the month, the country could end up welcoming a lower number of tourists in June, compared to May.

The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) foretasted to attract 137,152-148,695 tourists in June. However, this figure seems highly unlikely, given the current arrival trend seen so far during month. From the January to May period, Sri Lanka missed the tourist arrival targets by 13.9 percent, 8.4 percent, 11.4 percent, 18.5 percent and 14.4 percent, respectively.

India accounted for 28.1 percent of the tourist arrivals in the month, as the United Kingdom and China clinched the second and third spots, with 8 percent and 7.2 percent shares in arrivals, respectively. 
Australia and the Maldives were the fourth and fifth largest source markets in the month, accounting for 5.3 percent and 4.7 percent arrivals in the month, respectively.

Bangladesh took the sixth spot, contributing a 4.4 percent share in arrivals in the month. Germany, the United States, Russia and France were the remaining top 10 source markets in the month.
So far during the year, Sri Lanka welcomed 940,006 tourists, trailing behind the forecasts. As per the SLTDA’s conservative forecast, Sri Lanka is expected to welcome 1,087,897 tourists by end-June, which seems unlikely at this point. (NF)