Surge in Middle East travellers to Lanka

The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau’s (SLTPB) Middle East office reported a massive surge in the number of Middle East travellers to Sri Lanka, the National Development Media Centre said.

The total number of travelers from the Middle East region upto end of June this year reflected an increase by 102 percent over the same period last year.

Compared to the first six months of last year, there is a growth of 252 percent from Qatar, 209 percent from UAE, 142 percent from Bahrain, 96 percent from Saudi Arabia and 95 percent from Kuwait for the first six months this year.

Tourist arrivals in the first six months of this year included an increase of 70 percent from North America, 45 percent from Western Europe, 22 percent from Eastern Europe, 18 percent from Africa, 44 percent from East Asia, 53 percent from South Asia and 44 percent from Australasia.