8 February 2018 12:02 am
The Sri Lankan tourism industry got off to a strong start in 2018, with 246,972 tourists arriving in the country in January, recording a 12.6 percent growth over the corresponding period in 2017.
The growth, which picked up in December 2017, continued in January, reversing slow and at times the negative growth experienced in the seven preceding months, over issues related to dengue, weather and the government’s lack of a tourism marketing campaign.
In January, Western Europe was the leading source of tourists for Sri Lanka, with 83,324 visitors, which was a 14.9 percent increase year-on-year (YoY).
The main individual source markets in Western Europe: the UK, Germany and France too grew by similar double-digit figures, attracting 22,410, 14,985 and 12,209 tourists, respectively to the island.
Arrivals from South Asia increased 32.2 percent YoY to 54,815 tourists, boosted by arrivals from India increasing 40 percent YoY to 43,643 tourists. The Maldivian arrivals increased 9.4 percent YoY to 6,194 tourists despite the political turmoil in the archipelago nation.
China, which was the largest tourism market for Sri Lanka last January, plunged by 22 percent year-on-year to 24,819 visitors this January, dragging the East Asian regional market down 15 percent YoY to 41,462 tourists. Arrivals from Japan however increased 18.2 percent YoY to 4,758 tourists.
Meanwhile, arrivals from Eastern Europe increased 15.1 percent YoY to 30,550 tourists. The growth of arrivals from both Russia and Ukraine increased by just under 13 percent, with 11,634 and 6,544 tourists, respectively.
A 20.1 percent YoY increase was witnessed in arrivals from North America with 12,631 tourists, while both the Middle Eastern and Australasian markets increased by over 20 percent YoY, bringing in over 11,000 tourists a piece.