Tourist arrivals top 200,000 mark in first quarter

Anjana Gamage

Colombo: Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka passed the 200,000 mark during the first four months of this year.

Sri Lanka Tourist Board Director-General S. Kalaiselvam said 209,312 tourists arrived from January to April 2006 while the country recorded only 167,511 tourist arrivals in the first quarter of 2005.

There was a slight drop in arrivals in April this year compared to January-March.

Sri Lanka Tourist Board Research and International Affairs Division statistics reveal there was an upsurge in tourist arrivals from January to March surpassing the 50,000 mark for each month. In April, the country had only 49,776 tourists. A total of 52,103 tourists arrived in January, 52,687 in February and 54,746 in March.