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 [...]

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UK arrivals to Sri Lanka rise, drop in the Maldives

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A resort in the Maldives . Pic courtesy maldivestourism.net

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 well-run, 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.

 Maldives tourism picking up despite political unrest
Tourism in the Maldives has been largely unaffected by the political unrest though there was a drop in arrivals in the months of February to May, industry sources said. According to Mizna Shareef, State Minister for Tourism, with the exception of the German market, almost all other major markets (especially the European markets) has seen negative growth rates.

“However, our number one market, the Chinese market, although dropping in February and March, picked up from April and have been showing positive growths,” she said in comments sent to the Business Times. According to official figures, arrivals in June were 59,379 visitors in June, a 6.1-per cent jump over the same period last year.

This was an improvement over the corresponding falls in May (-1.4 per cent), April (-0.8 per cent), March (-4.7 per cent) and February (-5.3 per cent). The Maldives is aiming to reach a million arrivals this year, a target that neighbouring Sri Lanka is also chasing.
Last month, former President Mohamed Nasheed – who has been leading protest demonstrations against the ruling regime, urged a tourism boycott of the Maldives.

“I’d say to anyone who has booked a holiday to the Maldives: cancel it. And to anyone who is thinking of booking one: please don’t bankroll an illegitimate government,” he was quoted as saying in UK’s Financial Times (FT) newspaper. However his call hasn’t affected the industry with most operators saying the industry is picking up after the initial political turmoil.




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