Sri Lankan tourism could recover faster than expected

Colombo: New figures show Sri Lankan tourism could recover faster than expected, according to a senior government official.

Tourist arrivals in June nearly doubled to 63,072 from 37,802 in May, although figures remained 57 per cent lower compared to last year, and year to date performance remains negative.

Minister of Wildlife, Christian Affairs and Tourism, John Amaratunga, was quoted by state media as saying, "We had earlier predicted nine months for the industry to recover. But the latest figures confirm that it could happen within four months. Sri Lanka ended 2018 with 2.33 million tourist arrivals, up 10.3 percent over 2017 and though we would not pass this figure, we would touch the two million arrivals market in 2019.”

Over one million tourists visited the island by the end of June according to state media.

In June, the largest source market for tourists was India, followed by Australia, the UK, China, and the Maldives.

As of June 30 2019, a total of 1,008,449 tourists had visited Sri Lanka this year. The total represents a decline of 13.4 percent compared to last year when 1,164,647 tourists had visited the country during the same period.

Nearly 97 per cent of tourists travelled to the country by air, according to state media.