January 2019 total arrivals up 2.2% over January 2018
In a brief press release datelined 11th February 2019, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority disclosed that the total number of international tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka during January 2019 was 244,239, which in comparison to January 2018’s 238,924 arrivals, is a 2.2 % growth. India was the biggest source market followed by China and UK.
Among major sources of tourist traffic to Sri Lanka, the biggest increases in arrivals were seen from Russian (+16.5 percent to 13,474); the UK (+13.5 percent to 26,036); Australia (+9.7 percent to 10,368); and China (+8.8 percent to 26,414) while the largest declines were recorded from Germany (-8.3 percent to 14,027); France (-2.7 percent to 11,892).
Whilst India with 40,049 visitors to Sri Lanka in January 2019, continues to grow as our top producing country, the same cannot be said of China which despite remaining (barely) at the number 2 slot, keeps slipping, In January 2017, arrivals from China totaled 31,803 (infact overshooting India that month). Twenty four months later, welcoming 83% of the total arrivals in January 2019 is cause for concern. Admittedly, receiving 1,595 more Chinese visitors this January over last January is a small win. However, it would appear that we are far from ‘China ready’.
With January 2019 arrivals remaining flat when compared to January 2018, Achieving 3 million visitors during this year is going to be a herculean task. The remaining 11 months in 2019 will need to eclipse that of the same period in 2018, with a growth rate of over 31%. The last time this happened was in 2011, where tourist arrivals to the island jumped 30.8% over 2010. This however was mainly due to pent up desire to travel by the Sri Lankan diaspora.
A former Chairman of SLTDA lamented, that since 2015, appointing six Chairmen at SLTDA within a period of four years, does not reflect well of our policymaking nor does it augur well for the country. He goes on to add that in the last 20 years, almost 53 ‘Tourism Plans’ have been done – unlike in the Maldives, which during a 35-year time span has rolled out only four ‘Tourism Master Plans’. Obviously, we have the capacity to churn out a whole lot of plans, and yet, like ‘Humpty Dumpty’, when SL tourism took a fall in 1983, all the President’s horses and all the Ministers’ men don’t seem to be able put SL Tourism, together again!
Report compiled by in2ition
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