Sri Lanka could attract 750,000 Indian tourists over the next decade – a sixfold increase – if it can capture just 2.4% of that country’s outbound market, an equities research report by Captial Alliance, a Colombo broking house said. Even if Sri Lanka maintains its current market share of 1.4%, the island could attract 440,000 Indians in 10 years. The report projects this year’s arrivals to grow to 187,000, up from 127,000 last year as the country’s total arrivals are expected to top 900,000 from last year’s 650,000, reported Lanka Business.
Arrivals from India started to boom before the end of the war after Sri Lanka scrapped pre-approved visas for Indians, becoming the country’s top tourism-generating market. But Sri Lanka is set to re-impose pre-approved visas for all countries on a reciprocal basis indicating that only Singaporeans and Maldivians would get on-arrival visas in the future. Authorities however have promised a hassle free online visa approval process. If the process is easy, it may not make a difference of more than 150,000 tourists a year, a Capital Alliance official said. The report projects 2.6 million arrivals by 2020 from all countries at an annual growth rate of 15%.
The forecast is more conservative than the 2.6 million projected by Sri Lanka’s tourism authorities. The report says India now has a 12.1 million a year outbound market. A ‘cultural affinity’ and proximity made Sri Lanka a ready market for Indian travellers.
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