Sri Lanka tourist arrivals edges up in November

Dec 06, 2017 (LBO) – Sri Lanka tourist arrivals rose 0.2 percent to 167,511 in November from a year earlier amid subdued growth in the main Indian and Chinese markets. Arrivals in the first eleven months of the year were up 2.5 percent to 1.87 million arrivals, data from the state Tourism Development Authority showed. Indian visitors were up 6.9 percent to 32,243 in November while total Indian visitors for the first 11 months were up 5.7 percent to 336,840. Chinese visitors were up 3.5 percent to 19,237 in November while total Chinese visitors for the first 11 months were down 1.0 percent to 249,718. Middle Eastern markets also showed a decline of 30.4 percent in the month of November while visitors from Australasia were up 22.8 percent to 7,613 in the month. Arrivals from UK rose 2.2 percent while arrivals from Germany dropped 11.5 percent in the month of November.