Tourist arrivals up by 10.1% in May

• First five months’ haul reaches 846,229, posting 18.4% growth
• Chinese travellers continue gold run growing 42.7% in 2016 but India remains on top   

By Shehana Dain

Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka in May grew by 10.1% to 125,044, with the continued expansion of the Chinese market boosting the first five months’ haul to 846,229 in total and posting 18.4% growth.

India maintained its position as the top source market once again as arrivals grew by 7.9% to 34,259, while China coming in second grew by 31.5% to 16,004. In the first five months arrivals from India grew by 21.9% to 145,773 and Chinese tourists amounted to 112,890 up by 42.7%.

Western Europe was the largest regional market growing 9.5% YoY to 26,826 arrivals. The UK market grew 5.8% YoY to 8412 tourists and by 20.8% to 77,295 in the first five months. German tourist arrivals grew 21.2% YoY to7591 and by 15% to 59,106 by end May.

The French market fell by 6% YoY to 3281 tourists. However aggregated French arrivals grew 11.2% to 46,454. The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau’s (SLTPB) latest promotional efforts in Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg) displayed marginally favourable results, as Dutch arrivals grew 11.2% YoY to 1458 and Belgian arrivals 9% to 377 tourists, while tourist arrivals from Luxembourg failed to register.

South Asia remained the second largest regional market growing 11% YoY to 47,120 tourists. While Indian travellers were the dominant source in the region, Maldivian tourists grew by 11% to 7441 and Pakistan continued with the declining streak as arrivals fell by 3.2% to 2504.

Eastern Europe as a region produced 77,995 tourists in the first five months up by 9.2% even though in May arrivals declined by 15.7% to 5313. Russia is the prime force though the year-on-year figure saw a significant decline of 38.3% to 1756 and down by 14.6% 27,096 by end May.

Ukraine has seen a sharp growth of 70.9% in the first four months to 14,240 whilst in May arrivals grew by 13.2% to 2,338. Arrivals from the Czech Republic have increased by 26.9% to 9,928 by end May.

Middle Eastern tourists have improved by 11.5% to 36,907 in the first four months and higher by 8.3% to 6005 in May.

Sri Lanka is eyeing a conservative 2.2 million tourists by end 2016 dropping a notch from the previously targeted number of 2.5 million tourist arrivals while aiming at a $ 2.75 million in revenue.

Nearly 1.8 million tourists arrived in Sri Lanka last year, contributing $ 2.98 billion of earnings to Government revenue in 2015 compared to $ 2.43 billion recorded during 2014.