Tourist arrivals: Record increase in post-Covid arrivals

09 Oct 2021

Tourist arrivals: Record increase in post-Covid arrivals

09 Oct 2021

By Uwin Lugoda For the first time since the outbreak of Covid-19 in Sri Lanka, the country’s monthly tourist arrivals have passed the 10,000 mark, leading stakeholders to predict a positive future. Following September’s tourist arrivals, which were double that of August, tourism industry leaders voiced their satisfaction and optimism for the future. According to data from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), last month recorded the highest number of arrivals since the country’s borders opened in January. Data showed that in the month of September, a total of 13,547 travellers entered the country – more than double that of August, which only saw 5,040 arrivals. September also made up 35.7% of 2021’s tourist arrivals, which currently total 37,924. Speaking to The Sunday Morning, former Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) President Mahen Kariyawasan stated that the industry was pleased by the current arrival numbers and attributed the uptick to the lessened restrictions on fully vaccinated tourists. He also stated that having Sri Lanka’s immigration website active could have been a contributory factor, as it allows tourists to get their visas online. “We are very pleased with the recent arrival numbers, and we expect around 420,000 tourists to come down between October and March. We have seen the demand for Sri Lanka, especially from markets like the UK, where we were recently put on the green list,” he said. He explained that the Government could help reach their goal of 420,000 tourist arrivals faster by bringing back the visa-on-arrival concept, which will make it more convenient for the tourists. Kariyawasan stated that the Government should now focus on bringing unvaccinated travellers down to Sri Lanka, due to large markets such as Russia and Eastern Europe having fewer people vaccinated. He explained that the Government can lessen the restrictions for unvaccinated people by having them do a PCR test 72 hours before arrival and another one on arrival before moving them into the community, without posing any risk to the health of the country’s people. “Right now, an unvaccinated tourist will do a PCR test on arrival and will be transported to a Level One hotel. This is according to the bubble concept the Government came up with earlier. But now, we see hotels leaving their Level One status to cater to both local and international consumers. So, it is hard for us to promote Sri Lanka to the unvaccinated segment,” he explained. He explained that lessening the restrictions on unvaccinated people will generate more arrivals from markets like Russia, potentially leading to an additional 150,000 to 200,000 tourists between October and March. Speaking to us on the matter, The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) President Sanath Ukwatte stated that the sector was currently in discussions about allowing entry to unvaccinated tourists. He confirmed that most hotels were leaving their Level One status to cater to both local and foreign clientele. However, he stated that there was still a need for bubble hotels and that Sri Lanka will need at least one or two such hotels within its cultural triangle for these unvaccinated tourists. Speaking on the arrival numbers, Ukwatte stated that they were continuing to see a lot of inquiries for Sri Lanka, ever since the restrictions on fully vaccinated people were lifted and several European Union (EU) countries removed Sri Lanka from its red list. He explained that this renewed interest in the country has made the industry optimistic for the forthcoming winter season. “We have just lifted the restrictions, so there won’t be a huge surge of arrivals right out of the gate. Nevertheless, we are expecting a lot of tourists to come down, based on the number of inquiries we get and the airline bookings for Sri Lanka. This will help us generate our target of $ 500 million during this financial year, and we are now very optimistic about reaching that goal,” he added. Despite the country being open to tourists for nearly nine months, the total arrivals for 2021 declined by 92.5% compared to last year (2020) when 507,311 tourists visited the country from January to 18 March 2020. Since opening in January, Sri Lanka’s top five international tourist-generating markets have been India, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Germany, and the UK. The SLTDA report highlighted the arrivals from Kazakhstan leading up to last month, as it had recorded a growth in comparison to total arrivals up to September 2020. It stated that this was likely due to the pilot project carried out to revive the tourism industry following a 10-month pandemic-induced closure. September’s tourism arrivals showcased Asia Pacific as its largest source market, led by India, which has previously held the spot of the most lucrative market for Sri Lanka’s tourism. Last month, India accounted for 63% (8,528) of the market share and was followed by Pakistan at 9% (1,225), and Germany at 3% (466). Regionally, Asia Pacific sourced 78.9% of the total arrivals within September. The SLTDA’s monthly report attributed this uptick in arrivals to the improvement in international tourism owing to key factors such as the increase in vaccination programmes around the world, softer restrictions for vaccinated travellers, and growing consumer confidence. “The growth in arrivals from countries in the Americas, and western, central, and eastern Europe, suggests a slight revitalisation of leisure tourism, potentially enabled by factors such as the gradual improvement of traveller confidence, the lifting of travel restrictions, the rollout of Covid-19 vaccine programmes, and the North American and western Europe summer holiday period,” the report read. As for Sri Lanka’s regional performance, the report stated that the easing of border restrictions, the gradual containment of the pandemic, and promotions on air tickets, especially for Indian tourists, could be the likely factors that influenced the growth in arrivals.

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Tourist arrivals: Record increase in post-Covid arrivals

Tourist arrivals: Record increase in post-Covid arrivals

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