Another dent on Sri Lanka tourism
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Tourist arrivals during the month of September slipped 3.6 percent year-on-year to 37,104, Lanka Business Online reported.
The drop for the first nine months of this year was 21 percent to 350,779, Sri Lanka Tourism (SLT) was quoted saying.
SLT said there was “no cause for alarm” despite two rebel attacks in the past week at a wildlife park in the southeast and Monday’s deadly ground and air attack on the Anuradhapura military base.
Anuradhapura, some 210 kilometres north of the capital Colombo, is an ancient sacred Buddhist city and major attraction.
“There is no direct impact on tourists or tourism operations from this incident… there is no cause for alarm for the tourism industry,” SLT Additional Director General, Dileep Mudadeniya, was quoted saying.
Cultural tours account for about 10 percent of the island’s hotel bookings, and tour operators are cautious as many countries have only recently eased travel warnings, the report said.
A number of foreign embassies have advised their nationals to avoid travelling to the north and east of Sri Lanka, the scene of ongoing clashes between security forces and the rebels.
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