Nearly 16,500 tourists have arrived in the country between 1 and 24 October, boosting hopes for the crisis-ridden industry.

The initial arrival figures were released by the Tourism Ministry yesterday, and industry sources said the number was the highest for a 24-day period. “If the trend continues, October is likely to record the highest monthly arrivals for this year,” they added.

September saw the highest arrival of 13,547 tourists thereby boosting the first nine months’ figure to over 54,768.

The majority of these tourists were from India, the UK, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Germany, Maldives, Canada, France, the US, and Indonesia.

“With the easing of travel restrictions, there is a growing interest from global travellers to visit the country,” Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said.

 

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