Sri Lanka has welcomed 13,547 foreign tourists in September 2021, of which 8,528 were Indians who topped the list of arrivals to the island nation, as easing of border restrictions, gradual containment of the pandemic, and promotion of air tickets to Indian tourists boosted inbound travel, the tourism authority said. As of September 30, 2021, Sri Lanka hosted 37,924 tourists, down 92.5 per cent from 507,311 between January and March, 2020.

“Easing of border restrictions, the gradual containment of the pandemic and promotions on air tickets especially for Indian tourists could be the likely factors that influenced the growth in arrivals contraction in arrivals after the month of April,” the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority said in a report.

The spike in tourists for September can be observed following the sharp contraction in arrivals since April this year, the period when the country was ravaged by the devastating third wave, the authority said.