Sri Lanka downgrades tourist arrival targets for 2013

Sri Lanka downgrades tourist arrival targets for 2013

Sri Lanka's tourism sector authority has downgraded  the tourist arrival targets for 2013 as the number of arrivals so far this year has failed to meet the expectations of the industry.

The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) has downgraded the target number of arrivals for 2013 from an original estimate of 1.25 million to 1.1 million.

"Tourist arrivals have increased drastically over the past four years," SLTDA Director General D.S. Jayaweera said.

"Last year, the country recorded just over one million arrivals whereas during the last six months, we have attracted almost 500, 000. My own forecast is 1.1 million for the year."The arrival of Chinese tourists has increased an average of 72 percent over the last six months over the same period last year, he added.

On a cumulative basis, earnings from tourism during the first five months of 2013 recorded a growth of 21.9 percent, to 484.3 million U.S. dollars, the Central Bank said in its external sector report.