The one millionth tourist to Sri Lanka

The one millionth tourists to Sri Lanka this year (2014) is expected to arrive within next day or two. Major preparations have been made to welcome him or her, said Sri Lanka Inbound Tour Operators’ Association president Mahendra Kariyawasam. Last year, it took eleven months to mark the one million mark where this year it will in late August or early September, added Kariyawasam.

Overall, the number of tourist arrivals into Sri Lanka increased by 24.7 percent to 861,32 tourists and netted a revenue of USD 1,244.4 million which is a 33.9 percent increase. Last year Sri Lankan earned revenue of USD 1.5 billion from the tourism industry and this year plans are for a bigger expectation of USD 1.8 billion. It is expected to attract 2.5 million tourists into Sri Lanka in 2016. -adaderana.lk