Sri Lanka's tourist arrivals jumped by 24.6 percent in September compared to a year earlier, boosted by the end of the war against terrorism, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority said yesterday (8).

The number of tourists from North America grew 42.5% during the month and arrivals from Western Europe increased 42.8%. Meanwhile, there was a 44.9% increase in number of visitors from Middle East.

In August, arrivals rose 35.7% compared to the same period last year.

The hotel and travel index on the Colombo Stock Exchange has more than tripled since the war's end, outpacing the rise in the overall stock index, which has more than doubled since then, Reuters said.

Tourism is one of the main foreign exchange earners of the $42 billion economy along with remittances, garments, and tea. The revenue from tourism was $350 million in 2009.