More than 200,000 Chinese tourists had arrived in Sri Lanka till September this year with over 18,000 arriving last month alone, statistics released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Ministry showed.
According to a Xinhua agency report over 1.5 million tourists have arrived in the country so far this year with the government recently announcing they were expecting to achieve a 2.5 million arrival target by the end of 2017.
India was the leading market with the largest number of tourist arrivals in September, followed by China and Britain. However with September falling under the off-peak season, total arrivals fell 2.3 percent to 145,077 compared to the same month last year, data from the tourism office showed.
Sri Lanka's Tourism Minister John Amaratunga recently announced that arrivals were expected to increase, including from China, during the month-long Colombo International Shopping Festival which began on Oct 1.
He said the festival will provide world-class and internationally renowned original brands at competitive prices. The event will be held under the theme "One Island, One Big Mall."
Sri Lanka's government recently said it aims to double the number of tourists to 5 million per year by 2020 as part of a new tourist strategy to boost revenue to the country.
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Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala told Parliament today that the suspect in the rape of a lady doctor at the Anuradhapura teaching hospital has been identified as an army deserter and he will be apprehended shortly.
Police have arrested the suspect connected to the sexual assault on a female doctor at the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital today morning in Galnewa.
The Dutch Public Prosecutor suspects two companies of paying bribes in the construction of hospitals in Sri Lanka, according to an investigation by FD, the Dutch financial newspaper.
The Minister of Power, Kumara Jayakody, stated that in the future, internationally funded projects, such as power projects, will only be carried out through government-to-government (G2G) agreements and competitive procurement.
The Government today tabled in the House the Report of the Commission to Inquiry into the Establishment and Maintenance of Unlawful Places of Detention and Torture Chambers in the Batalanda Housing Scheme.
Israel, a major player in the global diamond and jewellery trade, has invited Sri Lankan gem and jewellery businessmen and designers to collaborate with Israeli diamond traders.
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