Sri Lanka sees 25% jump in tourist arrivals
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Sri Lanka’s tourism industry continued on its steep upward trajectory in the first six months of 2014, with international arrivals surging almost 25%.
According to the latest data from the Sri Lankan Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), the country welcomed a total of 727,353 overseas tourists between January and June this year, marking a 24.6% increase compared to the 583,573 recorded in the corresponding period of 2013.
And this growth was driven by visitors from China. The number of Chinese tourists to Sri Lanka jumped 137.2% year-on-year to 52,230. Other emerging markets also experienced strong growth, including Russia and Indonesia.
Since the end of the country’s civil war in 2009, Sri Lanka’s tourism industry has experienced strong growth. Visitor arrivals exceeded 1.2 million in 2013 and the country is now targeting 2.5m international tourists by 2016.
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