Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka increased by 48.4% during the first half of 2010 (January-June), with a total of 278,652 arrivals to the country in comparison to 187,729 arrivals during the same period last year (2009).
The number of arrivals for the month of June 2010 was recorded as 44,730, which was an increase of 47.9%. In June 2009, the number was 30,234, according to the latest figures released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority.
Figures showed an increase in the number of arrivals from South Asia, Western Europe, East Asia, North America, Australasia, Middle East, North America and Eastern Europe in the first half of 2010.
Tourists from Western Europe, the traditional tourist generating market, rose 45.2 percent to 108,250 in the first half of 2010. During the same period last year the number was 74,536. The number of visitors from UK went up by 24.5 percent to 44,987 in first half of 2010. It was 36,148 in the first half of 2009. Tourists from France went up by 82.3 percent to 13,480 in the first half of 2010. It was only 7,394 in the same period in 2009. Tourists from Germany increased by 73.7 percent to 21,500, in the first half of 2010. In the same period in 2009, the number of arrivals was 12,377.
From January to June 2010, South Asian visitors rose by 52.6 percent to 76,816 with tourists from India up by 78.4 percent to 55,138. The number was 30,902 in the first half of 2009. From Maldives, the number of tourists to the country went up by 7.9 percent to 15,894 and from Pakistan up 30.4 percent to 3,985 in comparison to the first half of 2009.
Arrivals from Australasia went up by 44.3 percent to 14,087 within the first half of 2010. The number of visitors from Australia went up 43.3 percent to 12,582. The number of tourists was only 8,783 in the first half of 2009. From East Asia, tourist arrivals increased by 43.6 percent to 29,466. Japanese visitors increased by 24.8 percent to 6,145. Visitors from Malaysia rose 231.8 percent to 5,757.
Only 1735 Malaysians arrived in the country in the first half of 2009. Visitors from Singapore rose 55.3 percent to 4,743.
In the first half of 2010, the number of visitors from the Middle East shot up by 102.1 percent to 13,652. Visitors from North America also increased by 70.2 percent to 18,317 with tourists from Canada up by 114.3 percent to 9,913. Only 4,625 Canadians arrived in the country in the first half of 2009. Arrivals from USA increased up by 36.9 percent to 8,404 while arrivals from Eastern Europe increased by 21.6 percent to 16,935 in the period between January and June, 2010.
source - www.dailymirror.lk
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