A record 7,096 tourists have arrived in the country between 1 and 13 October, boosting hopes for the crisis-ridden industry.
The initial arrivals figure was released by the Tourism Ministry yesterday, and industry sources said the number was the highest for a 13-day period, and if the trend continued, October was likely to record the highest monthly arrivals for this year.
As of now, September saw the highest tourist arrivals of 13,547, propelling the first nine months’ figure to over 37,000.
With the arrivals up to 13 October added, the cumulative figure since the reopening of borders on 21 January is 45,413 tourists.
The majority of the tourists were from India, Kazakhstan, Germany, Ukraine, US, China, Canada, UK, France, and Russia.
“With the easing of travel restrictions, there is a growing interest from global travellers to visit the country,” Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said.
(FT)