The Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) has recorded a 39 percent increase in tourist arrivals to the country in May this year in comparison to the corresponding period last year.

SLTDA statistics have recorded 48,943 tourist arrivals in May this year while the number of arrivals in May 2010 stood at 35,213.

In the five months up to May arrivals rose by 40.2 percent to 327,902 from 233,922 in the previous year.

The Authority's monthly statistics chart states that in the first five months of 2011, tourist arrivals from Western Europe increased by 37.1 percent with 129,367 visitors. Arrivals from the South Asian region rose 50.9 percent to 98,139.

From January to May visitors from India rose 54.5 percent to 68,830 while the arrivals almost doubled from Pakistan with 6,027 visitors.

The government predicts arrivals to hit a new record of 700,000 this year. Sri Lanka expects to raise the number of arrivals to 2.5 million by 2016.