COLOMBO, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan Tourism Minister John Amaratunga on Sunday expressed confidence in attracting more Chinese tourists, especially during the peak months starting from September.
So far, over 1.4 million tourists have arrived in Sri Lanka this year, with China emerging as the second largest market.
Amaratunga told Xinhua that Sri Lanka was depending on Chinese arrivals to boost its tourist numbers and the country was encouraging more Chinese to visit the island country.
He said thanks to direct air links between Colombo and several Chinese cities, more Chinese tourists are attracted to Sri Lanka.
Amaratunga further said the tourism sector hoped to attract 2.5 million tourists by the year-end and was confident in achieving the target.
According to statistics from the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, last month alone, over 190,000 tourists arrived in the country, a 2.5-percent increase compared to the same period last year.
Tourism has become the second highest earner of foreign exchange in Sri Lanka. Last year, over 2 million tourists arrived in the country.
