Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals rose 7.7 percent in March this year compared to the same period last year, the data released today by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) showed.

The month recorded 98,155 tourists arriving in the country compared to the 91,102 arrived in March 2012.

Tourist arrivals recorded a 10.9 percent increase in the first three months of this year with 288,798 tourists arriving in the island.

Overall arrivals from North America rose 8.3 percent to 15,306 this year. Arrivals form US rose 21.5 percent during the first three months of 2013 while arrivals from Canada declined 4.7 percent.

Tourist arrivals from Western Europe reached 129,127 during the first three months, a 12.6 percent increase from the 114,674 tourists arrived in the same period last year.

Arrivals from Eastern Europe increased 16.4 percent with the arrival of 26,936 tourists while tourist arrivals from Middle East increased by 3.4 percent.

Arrivals from South Asia up to March increased by 3.6 percent with 57,349 tourists visiting the island. Arrivals from India declined 4.4 percent reflecting the anti Sri Lankan campaign in the Tamil Nadu state of India.

Sri Lanka fulfilled its target of one million tourist arrivals last year and earned over US$ 1 billion from tourism. The country targets 2.5 million tourist arrivals by 2016.

Since the end of the war against the Tamil Tiger terrorists in May 2009, the country has seen steady rise in tourist arrivals every year for the past four years

Source : http://www.colombopage.com/archive_13A/May07_1367907055CH.php