Tue Dec 18, 2012 3:57pm IST
COLOMBO, Dec 18
(Reuters) - Sri Lanka's tourist arrivals hit a record high in the first 11
months of 2012, surpassing its annual peak recorded last year, government data showed on Tuesday.
The number of
foreign visitors has jumped 16.5 percent on year to 883,353 in Jan-Nov, higher
than the island nation's record high arrivals of 855,975 hit in 2011.
The arrivals in
November rose 20.1 percent to 109,202.
The number of
visitors has risen year-on-year in the past 43 months since a 25-year civil war
ended in May 2009.
The following table
shows tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka:
2012
2011 Change
(in %)
November 109,202
90,889 20.1
Jan-Nov 883,353
758,458 16.5
Jan-Dec 855,975
The tourism board
expects over one million tourists in 2012, yielding revenue of more than $1
billion, up from last year's record $830.3 million.
Revenue from
tourism rose 22.1 percent to $790.1 million in the first 10 months of 2012 from
the same period last year.
Tourism is one of
the main foreign exchange earners for Sri Lanka's $59 billion economy, along with
remittances from expatriate workers, garments and tea.
($1 = 128.550 Sri
Lanka rupees)
(Reporting by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Sunil
Nair)
