Daily arrivals reach 4,090 last Saturday, highest in 2022
11,500 arrivals during the first five days of February
By Shenal FernandoTourist arrivals last Saturday (5) exceeded 4,000 for the first time in 2022 with 4,090 tourists arriving on the island, increasing the number of tourist arrivals during the first five days of February 2022 to 11,500, as per Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd. (AASL).Speaking to The Morning Business yesterday (6), AASL ChairmanGen. (Retd.) G.A. Chandrasiri stated: “For the month of February, over 11,500 tourists have arrived in the country within these five days. Yesterday (5), 4,090 tourists came within 24 hours, which is a big increase. This is the first time we have exceeded 4,000 tourist arrivals since 25 December 2021. This is an indication of how tourism is flourishing together with our ground support from the airports.” He further stated that over 111 flights arrived and departed from the country last Saturday. The daily flight numbers exceeded 100 per day for the first time in mid-December following the devastation of the tourism industry in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, daily flight numbers still remain below the pre-Covid-19 average of 160 per day.The number of tourist arrivals in January 2022 was 82,327, with the highest daily arrival figure recorded on 5 January at 3,371 tourists.Speaking to The Morning Business in early January, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Director General (DG) Dhammika Wijesinghe stated their target is to earn approximately $ 1.1 billion in tourism earnings during 2022. If this targeted figure is achieved, it would represent a significant increase compared to 2021, where earnings from tourism amounted to only $ 500 million due to the collapse of global tourism in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.According to SLTDA data, a total of 194,495 tourists visited Sri Lanka in 2021, a drop of 61.7% from 507,704 in 2020. Most of these tourists were attributed to those coming from the Indian market, which accounted for 29.3% of arrivals, while Russia accounted for 12.1% and the UK accounted for 9.5%. The data further showcased that a steady increase in tourist arrivals was observed from September onwards. Accordingly, tourist arrivals increased from 13,527 in September to 22,771 in October and 44,294 in November. The highest number of tourist arrivals in 2021 was recorded during the month of December with 89,506 tourists visiting Sri Lanka during the month, which was a significant increase from the 393 arrivals in December 2020. Furthermore, data from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) showed that the country earned $ 141 million between January and November last year.
