Defending arrival numbers the record tourist arrivals in December 2015 augur well for achieving the intended visitor targets for 2016, believes Minister of Tourism Development John Amaratunga.

 

A total of 206,114 tourist arrivals were registered in December 2015, which is an all-time high.

The Minister pointed out that the security issues in Western Europe in the latter part of the year had impacted on last minute travellers from the region. Western Europe remains Sri Lanka’s single-biggest source region accounting for over half a million visitors. 

However the terrorist attacks in France with ripple effects being felt in Germany and Britain, which remain the biggest markets in the Western European region in November and December had an adverse impact on spur-of-the-moment travellers who make up a fair number. However despite the security concerns, arrivals from the region saw a 15% increase in December year on year.

Minister Amaratunga said although the target of 1.8 million visitors could not be achieved – falling short by just 2,000 visitors – it gave the authorities and the industry the required impetus to achieve the goals for this year with more vigour. He said the Tourism Advisory Committee would meet later this month to take stock of the situation and work on the areas that require attention. 

The Minister also called for action plans for 2016 from the four institutions that come under the purview of the Tourism Ministry. Theses action plans will be submitted to the Minister in the next couple of weeks.

Amaratunga drew attention to a report dated 28 December 2015 in the World Economic Forum Agenda, where Colombo was named as the fastest growing city for international visitors, according to MasterCard data. The report assesses the percentage change in the number of overnight visitors between 2009 and 2015 for destinations with more than I million international arrivals in 2015. Colombo registered a growth of 21.1% during this period, followed by Chengdu, China, which indicated a 20.7% growth. UAE was third on the list with 20.4 growth.

The Tourism Minister and the heads of institutions expressed confidence that with the recently unveiled SLTDA Promotional Plan for 2016 and regular input from the high profile Tourism Advisory Committee which comprises of the heads of the country’s leading travel, tourism and hospitality companies, the foundation is in place to achieve this year’s target of 2.2 million visitors.