Tourist arrivals soar in August

Ridma DISSANAYAKE

Tourist arrivals have increased to 72,463 in August 2011 compared to August 2010 which was only 55,898, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) statistics revealed.

The number of arrivals from Western Europe, South Asia, East Asia, Middle East and North America has increased.

According to the SLTDA, the number of visitors from Western Europe rose by 17.8 percent (30,053) with tourists from France up by 42.4 percent (4,166), Belgium 153.2 percent (962), Austria 394 and Germany 23.3 percent (4,834).

South Asian arrivals continued to grow by 33.8 percent (16,136) with 12,857 visitors from India, an increase of 38.9 percent.

The number of visitors from the Middle-East is 5,150. Arrivals from East Asia increased by 48.0 percent (9,963), with 1,568 arrivals from Malaysia and 1,297 from Singapore.

According to SLTDA reports, arrivals from Australia increased by 25.4 percent (3,641) while South Africa tourists increased by 28.3 percent (195).