SL draws over 43,000 tourists in first week of December despite Ditwah

THE tourism industry has posted a strong opening week for December, welcoming 43,329 visitors in the first seven days of the month despite the disruptions caused by Cyclone Ditwah, reflecting a 5.2% year-on-year (YoY) increase.

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The performance also pushes yearto-date (YTD) arrivals to over 2.14 million, marking a 16.3% growth compared with the same period last year.

India continued its lead as Sri Lanka's largest tourist source market during the first week of December, contributing 8,890 arrivals, or 21% of the total. It was followed by Russia with 4,735 travellers, Germany with 4,399 visitors, the UK with 3,053, and China with 2,571 tourists.

Other notable contributors included travellers from Australia, Poland, France, the US, and Spain.

The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) has projected 344,309 arrivals for December. Based on current trends and the daily average of 6,190 visitors registered in the first week, it appears that the country is wellplaced to meet this forecast.

Cumulatively, India has driven the strongest inflows YTD with 483,785 visitors, followed by the UK with 194,795, Russia with 163,328, Germany with 135,658, and China with 124,242.