Sri Lanka sees slow start to October with 25,966 tourist arrivals

(Photo by Mosharraf Hossain on Unsplash)
Sri Lanka welcomed 25,966 tourists in the first six days of October, showing a slow start for the month ahead of the winter season, according to data from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA).
During this period, the daily average of tourist arrivals was 4,327.6, slightly higher than September’s daily average of 4,071.3. However, September saw the slowest growth in tourist arrivals this year, with a year-on-year increase of just 9.11%.
India remained the top source of tourists, with 7,749 arrivals in the first six days of October, followed by 2,437 from China and 1,737 from Germany. The United Kingdom, Australia, and Russia ranked fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively.
Cumulative tourist arrivals for the year have reached 1,510,774. India leads with 294,305 arrivals, while the UK is the second largest market with 138,125, followed by Russia with 128,294.
Historically, October brings in a few thousand more tourists than September, and the SLTDA has forecasted 155,070 tourist arrivals for the month.
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