The number of tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka went up 27.2% to 60,219 in the month of October 2011, compared to October 2010 which was only 47,339, according to the latest figures released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority.

Figures showed an increase in the number of arrivals from Western Europe, South Asia, East Asia, Middle East and North America.

Tourists from Western Europe, the traditional tourist generating market, rose 4.3 percent to 19,394 in October 2011. The number of visitors from France went up 46.1 percent to 2,848, those from Austria up 92.6 percent to 314 and from Netherlands up 20.3 percent to 1,505.

South Asian visitors rose to 51.4 percent to 18,422 with tourists from India up by 50.4 percent to 13,329, from Maldives up 46.8 percent to 3,497 and from Pakistan up 38.9 percent to 878.

Arrivals from Australasia went up 25.1 percent to 3,442 and from East Asia up by 64.8 percent to 8,841. Japanese visitors increased 72.9 percent to 2,439, visitors from Singapore rose 66.9 percent to 1,267.

Visitors from China rose 147.2 percent to 1,607.