Sri Lanka tourism arrivals down
Sri Lanka has reported a sharp 21% drop in holiday-makers visiting the island, a day after Tamil Tigers launched a major suicide attack against a key military base.
Tourist arrivals during the month of September slipped 3.6 percent to 37,104 compared to the same period in 2006. The drop for the nine months to September 2007 stands at 21% to 350,779, Sri Lanka Tourism (SLT) said.
SLT said there was “no cause for alarm” despite two rebel attacks in the past week at a wildlife park in the southeast and a deadly ground and air attack on the Anuradhapura military base on Monday.
Located 212km north of the capital Colombo, Anuradhapura is an ancient sacred Buddhist city and major attraction.
“There is no direct impact on tourists or tourism operations from this incident… there is no cause for alarm for the tourism industry,” SLT Additional Director General, Dileep Mudadeniya, said.
Still cultural tours account for about 10% of the island’s hotel bookings, and tour operators are cautious as many countries have only recently eased travel warnings.
A number of foreign embassies have advised their nationals to avoid travelling to the north and east of Sri Lanka, the scene of ongoing clashes between security forces and Tamil Tiger rebels.
“We are currently in the beach season,” said Talaal Maruzook, research analyst at CT Smith Stockbrokers, referring to the resorts in the south that remain the main attraction for visitors.
Leisure group Jetwing, which runs upmarket boutique hotels, said the coming winter season still looked promising.
“Touch wood, the order book has not changed. Things are looking better for us this winter,” said Jetwing’s Director, Shiromal Cooray.
However, Maruzook said a future attack in the south of the island could change things. The rebels last week overran an army post stationed at the most popular wildlife park in Yala deep in the south of the island.
According to central bank data, earnings from tourism from January to September fell to 273.6 million dollars in 2007 from 325.5 million dollars in the same period last year.
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October 24th, 2007 at 9:44 am
[…] An Expedition to Sri Lanka wrote an interesting post today on Sri Lanka tourism arrivals downHere’s a quick excerptSri Lanka tourism arrivals down October 24th, 2007 by admin [ french_tourists.gif] … in the southeast and a deadly ground and air attack on the Anuradhapura military base on Monday. Located 212km … are cautious as many countries have only recently eased travel warnings. A number of foreign embassies […]