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COLOMBO, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Earnings from Sri Lanka's lucrative tourism industry during the first quarter of 2015 recorded a growth of 13.6 percent, to 762.3 million U.S. dollars, compared to the corresponding period of 2014, the Central Bank said in its latest report on Friday.
"Tourist arrivals increased by 18 percent, year-on-year, to 157, 051 in March 2015, raising the total number of tourists during the first quarter of the year to 478,838 which grew by 13.6 percent year-on-year," the Central Bank said.
Earnings from tourism increased by 18 percent to 250 million U. S. dollars in March 2015, from 211.8 million U.S dollars in March 2014.
Since the end of a three decade war in 2009, Sri Lanka's tourist arrivals have boomed, reaching over 1.5 million last year and attracting earnings of 1.7 billion U.S. dollars, according to the Central Bank.
China has become Sri Lanka's second largest source of tourists. In 2013, only 54,288 Chinese tourists visited Sri Lanka but the numbers ballooned to 128,166 by the end of last year, growing an impressive 136.1 percent, according the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTA).
The tropical island is aiming to attract 2.5 million arrivals by 2016, buoyed by rapidly increasing numbers from China.
