Tourist arrivals cross 85,000 mark in first two weeks of July

Tourists exploring Independence Square in Colombo 
PIC BY NISAL BADUGE

The tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka have maintained the upbeat momentum for the month, with the island nation welcoming over 85,000 tourists during July.  
The provisional data from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority showed that a total of 85,426 international visitors arrived in the country between July 01 and July 14.   
This brings the cumulative total arrivals for the January 01 to July 14 to 1,095,675. The daily average arrival rate records 6,101 tourist arrivals per day, a significant improvement from 3,782 arrivals observed last month. 
The first week of the month saw 43,083 arrivals while the second week saw 42,343 tourists visiting the island. July 06 alone saw 7,525 arrivals. The second week saw a slight decline of 1.7 percent in the arrival rates compared to the first.
India remained the largest source market of tourism, with 23,498 visitors, accounting for 27.5 percent of the total arrivals in July. The United Kingdom ranked second with 7,703 tourists (9.01 percent), followed by China, with 5,317 tourists (6.2 percent).   
Germany and Australia took the fourth and fifth ranks, with 4,409 and 3,976 tourists, respectively.  
The month started on a high note with the commencement of the Dawoodi Bohra International Convention on July 07. The 12-day event brought over 15,000 religious visitors from more than 40 countries.   
This event also marked the first major international event hosted by Sri Lanka in 2024. (NR)