Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka increased by 1.3% over the last year. Total arrivals in October 2017 stood at 152,429 while the total arrivals to Sri Lanka were 1,704,360 showing a 2.7% increase as against the previous year.
The arrivals in September were negative showing a minus 2.3% against the previous year. China, which became Sri Lanka’s second biggest market with up to 80 percent growth in recent years, was down 1 percent to 249,718 up to November 2017.
However industry stalwarts have said that November is the beginning of the season and the arrival numbers would have been more robust and a focused marketing campaign was needed. Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Chairman Udaya Nanayakkara, promised that SL Tourism will go into a different era of promotional activities, asserted addressing the 11th AGM of the (ASMET) in Colombo.
He said from January next year they would launch the much awaited digital marketing program a six months crash program budgeted at Rs 600 million.
The global program is valued at US$ 20 million and will consist of various different components.
Add new comment