Off Asia

Tourist arrivals from East Asia, including Japan and China dipped in August, taking total tourist numbers down over record arrivals in July.









Tourist arrivals from East Asia, including Japan and China dipped in August, taking total tourist numbers down over record arrivals in July.

August saw over 48,000 people visiting Sri Lanka, a 15.

3 percent increase for the same month last year, driven largely by key markets India and the UK.

India continues to be a thrust market contributing to 41 percent of overall growth, with arrivals up 44.7 percent to 8778 in August this year.

Europe has also grown overall, with the UK following India with arrivals up 30 percent over August last year with 10,926 visitors, making up for 39 percent of total growth.

Overall most of the islands traditional western European markets showed increased arrivals except for a two percent drop from Germany compared to August 2003.

The Middle Eastern market went up by 44.

3 percent compared to last August with only 1,623 visitors.

Arrivals from most East Asian countries on the other hand dipped across the board compared to August 2003.

Chinese vi