According to the statistics of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), 95,320 British tourists have visited Sri Lanka from 1st January 2010 to 30th November 2010 – a 31% increase compared to last year.

“This is a beautiful country to visit and the historical connections between the UK and Sri Lanka mean lots of British nationals want to come here each year," said British Deputy High Commissioner, Mark Gooding commenting on the increase of British tourists to Sri Lanka, a press release from the British High Commission said.

The overall tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka have increased by 47% in 2010, compared to 2009. The total number of tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka from January to November 2010 was 569,849 of which 17% were British tourists.

Statistics show that 95,320 British tourists visited Sri Lanka as at 30 November, 2010 and forecasts expect it to pass 125,000 by the end of this year. In 2009 too, 19% of the total number of tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka was from the UK.

The British government eased its travel advice to Sri Lanka in August 2010. It no longer advises against travel to any part of Sri Lanka.

The Consular Section of the British High Commission in Colombo introduced an SMS alert system in April 2010 which informs British nationals arriving in Sri Lanka of the contact details of the Consular section.

British nationals visiting Sri Lanka for more than a month are asked to register themselves on the Consular database. The Consular team also actively promotes the importance of cultural sensitivity among British tourists to Sri Lanka, in order to have a fun-filled and incident-free holiday. They publish annual travel advice booklets that outline simple, clear and concise information, covering all bases. They also focus on respect for religion and religious monuments and sites, awareness of local laws and customs and even common sense advice, such as making copies of one’s passport and remaining aware of security risks.

"It is very important for British tourists to read the FCO travel advice before they arrive here. Our Consular team in Colombo is readily available to advise and help British nationals who encounter problems during their stay – but obviously what we want most is to help them prevent unfortunate incidents so they can enjoy their Sri Lankan vacation happily and safely,” said Deputy High Commissioner, Mark Gooding.

The 600,000th tourist to Sri Lanka during 2010 was also a British national. The 600,000th arrival was Mr. Nick Davis, who arrived with his partner, Leila Diani. They were greeted by the Chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism, Dr. Nalaka Godahewa, and Mr. Malraj Kiriella, Managing Director of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau.