BIA part-closure leads to first post-war dip in tourist arrivals

Reuters: Tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka fell in February for the first time since a nearly three-decade-long civil war ended in May 2009, government data released on Friday showed.

It snapped a 93-month streak of tourist increases on the island, popular for its Indian Ocean beaches and varied wildlife. Tourism accounts for close to 5% of Sri Lanka’s economy. Arrivals in February edged down 0.4% to 197,517, the first fall since May 2009.

The slight decline, analysts said, was due to inconvenience and long waiting time at the main airport, which is currently closed for eight hours a day for runaway renovations.

It is due to open again fully in early April, but the airport renovations have caused hundreds of flights to be cancelled since 6 January.

Tourist arrivals and revenue from tourism hit record highs in 2016, with annual arrivals jumping 14% to a record 2.05 million.

Revenue in 2016 hit $ 3.4 billion, beating the previous record of $ 2.98 billion posted in 2015, Central Bank data showed.