- Tourist arrivals surge with daily numbers hitting 30,000
- Decrease in Israeli tourists not seen as significant setback
- SLTDA confident of reaching 2 m tourist arrivals by year-end
- US Embassy eases travel restrictions; UK remains primary challenge
- SL’s success at WTM boosts UK market growth
Sri Lanka will be able to reach its target of two million tourist arrivals by the end of the year amid a surge in tourist arrivals in November despite the spate of travel advisories issued by several Western nations in response to the incident in Arugam Bay in October, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) reveals.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, SLTDA Acting Director General Upali Ratnayake revealed that although arrivals of Israelis to Sri Lanka had declined in the aftermath of the Arugam Bay incident, the total overall tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka had surged.
He further noted that the daily tourist arrivals to the country presently stood at an average of 30,000, up from the around 20,000 per day recorded at the time of the incident.
Addressing the decrease in Israeli tourist arrivals, he observed that it was expected. “Considering the news, it was obvious. However, it is not a significant blow to us,” he said.
On Thursday (14), The Times of Israel reported that the National Security Council of Israel had reduced “the warning level for Sri Lanka’s Arugam Bay area from four, which indicates a highly credible threat, to two, indicating a more mild occasional threat”.
“The rest of the island nation was lowered from level three – moderate – to level two,” it added.
Ratnayake further stated that the target for 2024 was two million tourist arrivals and that as of Tuesday (12), arrivals to Sri Lanka had surpassed 1.7 million. Accordingly, he claimed that with the surge in daily tourist arrivals to over 30,000, they were confident that Sri Lanka could reach its target by the end of the year.
Commenting on the fallout from the Arugam Bay incident, he pointed out that the US Embassy in Colombo had taken steps to lift the travel restrictions issued on 23 October for Arugam Bay. According to him, the only sticking point remaining is the travel advisory issued by the UK.
However, he pointed out that in spite of the UK travel advisory, following Sri Lanka’s exploits at the World Travel Market (WTM) in London, where the country won the award for best stall, UK had become the second largest European tourist market for Sri Lanka.
