TOURISM




Sri Lanka tourist arrivals up 53.7-pct in March

 

Sri Lanka's March 2010 tourist arrivals rose 53.7 percent to 52,352 from a year earlier with more visitors from Western Europe, Middle East and South Asia coming to the island. The tourist arrivals from Western Europe rose 48.6 percent to 21,797 in March 2010 from a year ago with arrivals from the UK up 30.1 percent to 8,559, France up 63.1 percent to 2,872 and Germany up 96.5 percent to 5,305. Eastern Europe arrivals were up 21.8 percent to 3,421. Sri Lanka's tourism industry is seeing further growth with arrivals increasing by over 50 percent in the first quarter of 2010 compared to last year. Tourist arrivals for the last three months have seen a 50.3 percent growth from 106,702 to 160,409 arrivals year-on-year. Tourist arrivals in the country increased sharply from May in 2009 after defeating terrorism, ending Sri Lanka's 30-year war.

 

Meanwhile Sri Lanka has been rated among the top 10 most affordable destinations in the world, according to the German-language Yahoo! Travel Magazine. The National Geographic Channel recently in an exclusive report categorized Sri Lanka as the second best place to visit, accrediting the country as the "Wonder of the World." Sri Lanka was also ranked as the number one tourist destination by the 'New York Times' in its list of "31 Places to go in 2010". Just days after this ranking, a leading lifestyle web resource, Daily Candy, weighed in with a similarly enthusiastic travel recommendation, praising Sri Lanka as “the best place ever been”.

 

Source:http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/mobile/fullstory.php?nid=424741657

http://de.reisen.yahoo.com/p-werbung-3311508

Sri Lanka takes part at Austrian Tourism & Travel Fair

The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) in association with the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Austria, and representatives from ten (10) Sri Lankan Tourism and Travel companies took part at the “Ferien Messe-2010”, the International Fair for Holidays, Travel and Leisure in Vienna from 14-17 January 2010


Sri Lankan travel trade companies - Aitken Spence Travels, Exotic Vacations, Explore Asia, Gemini Tours & Travels, Hawk Travels, Heritage Expeditions, Jetwing Travels, Lanka Holidays, Warkers Tours and Sunway Holidays participated at the travel fair.

Ferien Messe, one of the biggest travel and tourism fairs in Central Europe, is being held annually. While over 145,000 visitors attended this year fair, approximately 820 tourism and travel companies from 70 countries took part at the event.

The Sri Lanka Stand at the Fair was well attended by both public and the travel community and showcased the country as a tourism destination in various areas such as eco-tourism, ayurvedic, wellness, sports and recreational, cultural and nature.

Central Europe poses strong growth potential and tremendous opportunities for Sri Lanka’s tourism sector. Sri Lanka has become a favorite travel destination in the region following the restoration of peace and normalcy in the country and relaxation of travel advisories by countries such as Austria, Czech Republic and Croatia. Sri Lanka was one of the top three South Asian countries for outbound Austrian tourists with 24,732 total visitors recorded for the period 2003-2006.

 

 

Map of Gemstones found in Sri Lanka