UK arrivals to Sri Lanka rise, drop in the Maldives

While UK arrivals have dropped in the Maldives, the number of tourists to Sri Lanka from that country has increased in the past few months.

The total number of arrivals in Sri Lanka for January to June 2012 was up 18.7 per cent to 452,867 from the same period last year. The UK arrivals rose 17.1 per cent in June and 2.8 per cent in the six months to June 2012.

In the Maldives, the UK – once the largest source market for both Sri Lanka and the Maldives – has seen a drop based mostly on a recession and the financial crisis facing most of Europe. Sri Lanka’s biggest tourism source is India while China is the Maldives’ biggest source market.

So why has Sri Lanka seen a rise in UK arrivals compared to the Maldives?

That’s because Sri Lanka has for years been regarded as the tropical destination that was at the lower end of the price scale, according to UK tour operators.

“Even though prices have gone up, Sri Lanka remains as one of the best priced destinations, and in these times of austerity, many clients are compromising their holiday standards, so a wellrun, mid-range hotel is suddenly seen to be attractive and rather adventurous,” noted David Kevan of London-based CHIC locations.

He said, “you (also) need to consider that the UK has a large Sri Lankan population, many of whom hold UK passports and they travel back to the island in huge numbers in the months June to September.

The joke here is that it’s difficult to get service in petrol stations during these months, as virtually all the staff has returned back to Sri Lanka. I think if you did a survey of petrol stations in the London urban area, you would find about 80% are staffed by Sri Lankans.”

He said by contrast the Maldives population in small, with hardly any holding UK passports.