Sri Lanka expects 800,000th visitor to arrive on Monday

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka tourism industry sources expect the 800,000th visitor to Sri Lanka this year to arrive in the country on Monday.

Nalaka Godahewa, the Chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority says that the number of tourists to Sri Lanka this year exceeded the forecast of 780,000 by December 14.

Tourism revenue rose 64.8 percent in 2010 to a record US$ 576 million. This year the country expects US$ 800 million tourism income and US$ 1 billion next year. Nearly 950,000 tourists are expected to visit Sri Lanka next year.

The year-to-year growth in tourism industry is 37 percent compared to 2010, says the official.

Since the end of the war against the Tamil Tiger terrorists in May 2009, the country has seen increasing tourist arrivals every year for the past two years.