Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals had shown an increase of 13.6% to 121,576 in October 2014 with tourist arrivals being boosted from countries such as India, China and the United Kingdom. For the past nine months of this year, arrivals were up by 21.5% to 1,228,754 when compared to the same time period last year.

South Asian tourists were down 10.7% to 35,718 when compared to the same month last year with arrivals from India, Sri Lanka’s top market, up 19.8% to 26,148. Maldivian tourists were down 0.04% to 6,460 and Pakistan was down 33% to 1,725.

Arrivals from the United Kingdom, the second biggest market for Sri Lanka was up 2.7% to 10,112 when compared to the same month last year. Tourists from East Asian countries were up 54.4% to 22,656 with arrivals from China up 120.7% to 11.894. Visitors from China were up 138.9% to 106.888 compared to 117,442 from the United Kingdom, up 4.4%. German tourists were up 23.8% to 7,966 and Russian visitors showed an increase of 4% to 5,512 though Ukraine showed a decrease of 52.4% to 2,181. Middle Eastern visitors were up 0.6% to 8,840 with arrivals from Saudi Arabia up 0.04% to 2,652 and the UAE was down 10.4% to 968. Oman was up 64.9% to 849.

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