Destination Sri Lanka reported a major influx of Arab travellers as Middle East Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka surged 50 per cent in January, 2010 compared to the same period last year, according to statistics compiled by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority and announced by the Middle East office of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Board (SLTPB).
“We are confident of the early results, and are on track to surpass figures attained last year where tourist arrivals saw a double-digit growth,” said Heba Al Ghais Al Mansoori, Middle East Director of SLTPB based in Dubai.
Announcing the results, Ms. Al Mansoori confirmed that the strongest growth was registered from the UAE (up by 164%), Saudi Arabia (up by 127%), Qatar (171%), Kuwait (up by 135%) and Jordan among others. Apart from the Middle East, regions that saw a marked increase in visitors are Western and Eastern Europe, and South Asia.
“Sri Lanka is ideally positioned as a destination to attract more regional travellers despite the credit crunch as stability has finally dawned on Sri Lanka with the war coming to an end and the destination offers very good value for money,” Ms Al Mansoori remarked. “Sri Lanka is an exotic locale and peace has finally brought prosperity and development into the country and opened up more areas for tourism development which otherwise were not accessible during the war.”
Factors such as the government’s support for the tourism sector, and expansion of low-cost carrier services are also contributing to the growth of the tourism industry. Read More.......
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