Sri Lanka Tourism achieved the targeted 750,000 tourist arrivals for the year 2011 yesterday (Nov.24).

This is the first time ever; the tourism industry has received number of arrivals exceeding 700,000 mark in any given year making it a ground breaking figure in tourism records, says the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau.

A team of officials from Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau and representatives from Ministry of Economic Development welcomed the guest Mr. Mohomad Albordiny and wife from Palestin who arrived to Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka Tourism offered a special gift and a complimentary package to the tourist arrived yesterday keeping its promise of rewarding the 750,000th tourist and similar rewards were available for the 250,000th 500,000th, 600,000th tourist who visited Sri Lanka in the year 2011.

At the beginning of year 2011 Sri Lanka Tourism launched their marketing campaign named as “Refreshingly Sri Lanka – Visit 2011”,with the aim of showcasing Sri Lanka as an Island of new found freedom; a place where the visitor can experience everything that is refreshing under the sun, the Tourism Promotions Bureau said.

The Bureau added that with this new branding , Sri Lanka tourism promoted 8 segments encapsulating 8 wonderful experiences which a tourist can enjoy within eight days such as: pristine ,heritage ,bliss, thrills, festivities, essence, scenic beauty and wild life.

During year 2010, total number of 654,476 tourists visited Sri Lanka, compared to 750,000 in 2011, which is a 34.2% annual growth. This year has seen a huge contribution from Latin American, Caribbean & western European countries including Austria, Belgium, Denmark ,France, the Netherlands, UK and Germany. These regions alone have attracted 250, 847 tourists sharing a major portion out of the 750,000 arrivals recorded so far.

Sri Lanka Tourism’s aim with this campaign was to amalgamate domestic and international markets alike into one cohesive platform to develop these products by the end of the year, promoting Sri Lanka as a destination that can offer refreshing experiences for anyone who visits it.

All promotional activities and events in the next couple of years will be aimed at achieving the target number of 2.6 million tourists by 2016.