Sri Lanka tourist arrivals up by 4.7 per cent in March

Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals are up 4.7 per cent in March 2019 compared to the same period last year, according to the data released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA). Around 244,328 tourists arrived in the country in March 2019 compared to the 233,382 arrivals in March 2018.

India, United Kingdom, China, Germany and France were Sri Lanka’s top five international tourist generating markets in March this year.

India was the largest source of tourist traffic to Sri Lanka with 14 per cent of the total traffic received in March 2019. UK accounted for 12 per cent of the total traffic; while China, Germany and France accounted for 10 per cent, 7 per cent and 6 per cent respectively.

Europe became the largest source of tourist traffic to Sri Lanka with 49 per cent of the total traffic received in March 2019. Asia and Pacific accounted for 40 per cent of the total traffic, America 8 per cent, Middle East 2 per cent and Africa 1 per cent.

Arrivals from North America rose 25.4 per cent to 18,797 in March and the arrivals from US rose 29.3 per cent to 12,543 during the month while arrivals from Canada increased 17.6 per cent. Tourist arrivals from Europe declined by 3.4 per cent with the arrival of 119,955 tourists. Most of the tourists came from UK (29,682), followed by Germany (18,134), France (13,957), and Russian Federation (12,705). Tourist arrivals from Middle East increased by 23.3 percent with the arrival of 4,339 visitors compared to the 3,520 arrived in March 2018.

Tourist arrivals from Asia & Pacific increased by 11.7 per cent with 98,664 arriving in the island. Tourist arrivals from India rose 13.8 per cent with 34812 visitors arriving while arrivals from China increased by 12.60 per cent to record 23,759 arrivals. Arrivals from Australia recorded 28.1 per cent increase with 11,441 visitors entering the country in March 2019.