Tourist arrivals surpass 63,000 in first half of October

From October 7 to 15, the average daily tourist arrivals were 4,169.4, a slight decrease from 4,327.6 in the first six days of the month. 

However, this figure shows a marginal increase compared to the 4,071.3 daily average recorded in September. September marked a slow growth rate for tourism, with only a 9.11% year-on-year increase.

Despite the decline, India remained the largest source of tourists during this period, contributing 18,078 arrivals. Following India were China with 4,504 and the UK with 4,495 tourists. Germany, Russia, and Australia rounded out the top six source markets.

Overall, Sri Lanka has recorded cumulative tourist arrivals of 1,548,299 so far this year, with India leading at 304,634 arrivals, followed by the UK and Russia with 140,959 and 130,701 arrivals, respectively.

Historically, October tends to attract slightly more tourists than September, and the SLTDA has forecasted 155,070 arrivals for the month.