‎Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka have exceeded 436,000 so far this year, signaling a strong recovery for the island’s tourism sector, Deputy Minister of Tourism Ruwan Ranasinghe said Thursday (19).‎

‎Deputy Minister said 436,000 visitors arrived in the country between Jan. 1 and Feb. 15, marking a significant increase compared with the same period last year.

‎Speaking at a media briefing in Colombo, Ranasinghe said the government plans to launch a global tourism promotion campaign this year targeting 15 international markets, with an allocation of nearly 2 billion Sri Lankan rupees.

‎“We have been able to take Sri Lanka’s image to a very positive position globally,” he said. “As a result, tourist arrivals have increased significantly. By Feb. 15 alone, arrivals reached around 436,000, which is a very high figure compared to the previous year.”

‎Ranasinghe said international sporting events, particularly T20 cricket tournaments, have contributed to increased tourist interest, especially in the capital.

‎“One of the challenges we faced was the hotel occupancy rate in Colombo,” he said. “At present, occupancy is close to 100 percent, with strong demand for rooms in the city.” (NewsWire)

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