Over 70,000 Lankans visit Thailand in 2012

M F Jabir

There had been a marked increase in Sri Lankans visiting Thailand, a Thailand Authority of Tourism, (TAT) Mubai office source told the Daily News Business. There was tremendous potential for the development of tourism between the two countries, due to the similarity in cultural aspects, the source said.

In 2012, Sri Lanka's visitor arrivals to Thailand had totaled 73,338, up 36.73 % over 2011. In January 2013, Thailand welcomed 4,458 Sri Lankan visitors, up by 42.79 % over the same period of 2012. TAT maintains a vigorous tourism promotion campaign in Sri Lanka, while in July last year, held its "Amazing Thailand" Road Show in Colombo after a lapse of two years. For the first time Sri Lanka too achieved the golden double last year by recording the one million mark in tourist arrivals, which generated US $ one billion in 2012 from tourism.