Tourists fear mosquito bite
View(s):Travellers to Sri Lanka particularly from China, soon to be considered the highest arrivals in the country, have cancelled bookings in the wake of the recent dengue epidemic outbreak.
Chinese visitors had cancelled bookings to Sri Lanka resulting in a drop in arrivals from this market in the months of June by 13.8 per cent and July by 7.1 per cent, industry officials said.
However, they noted that these arrivals are likely to pick up following the low incidence of dengue cases getting reported in the country. “Bookings are expected to pick up in the coming months,” it was stated.
Moreover, numbers from the West Asian market had also dropped in the months of March, April, May and July but picked up in June.
The drop in arrivals from West Asia was believed to be due to the oil prices coming down resulting in continuing retrenchment of their workforce, and expatriates being concerned about their jobs.
But industry experts believe that more promotions in that region could help boost arrivals to the country from this market.
Going by current trends it is believed that if it should continue, there could be a reduction in the target set for the end of this year and therefore “challenging” to achieve.