Tourist arrivals surpass 63,000 in first half of October Source : dailymirror Sri Lanka welcomed 63,491 tourists in the first half of October, in continuing with the slowdown in tourist arrivals, ahead of the winter season, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) data showed. From October 07 to 15, the tourist arrival average was 4169.4 tourists per day, down from the daily average of 4327.6 tourists during the first six days of the month but marginally up from 4071.3 tourists recorded for September this year.  The tourist arrivals grew at the slowest pace in September, with a 9.11 percent year-on-year growth rate. The daily average of tourist arrivals for the first half of the month stood at 4232.73 tourists. India continued to account for the largest source of arrivals in the period, with 18,078 arrivals, followed by 4,504 and 4,495 arrivals from China and the UK. Germany, Russia and Australia ...

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Sri Lanka’s June tourist arrival rate remains slow Source : dailymirror The rate of tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka continues to remain slow in the month of June, which is an off-season of the island nation. The provisional data released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) showed that for the first 23 days of June, Sri Lanka welcomed only 84,383 international visitors. The daily arrival average is about 3,500 while the weekly arrival average is about 26,000.  Accordingly, the year-to-date tourist arrivals are at 981,162.  Analysis shows that compared with the number of tourists visiting the country in June 2023, the June 2024 arrivals thus far are a slight increase of 16 percent. In the first 23 days of June 2023, Sri Lanka welcomed 72,277 international visitors.  For June so far, India ranks as the largest tourist traffic generator, a position it continues to hold.  The United Kingdom ranks ...

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Aeroflot to launch services to SL from 4 Nov. Source:FT Russia’s Aeroflot will commence a new direct service between Moscow-Colombo, which starts on 4 November. The decision was made at a top-level meeting held between Russian Aeroflot officials and the Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga-led six-member visiting delegation in Moscow, Russia. Aeroflot officials Igor Chernyshiv, Ivon G. Batanov, Anton P. Myagkov and Natalya R. Teimuazova participated in the discussion. The Government is making a fresh effort to woo more tourists by tying up with leading international airlines, aiming to promote Sri Lanka as a safe and attractive tourist destination. This discussion with Aeroflot’s top officials was the launch of the promotion initiative. Previously, Aeroflot planned to resume flights to Sri Lanka from 2 September, but it was postponed indefinitely due to raging COVID-19 cases in the country. Initially, it was decided to operate two flights weekly. The airline commended the Government’s ...

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