April 7- The number of tourists travelling to Sri Lanka from the Middle East has gone up by 50 per cent as of January 2010 as compared to the same month in 2009.
Figures released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority show that the strongest growth was registered in Qatar, up by 171 per cent, followed by the UAE (164 per cent), Saudi Arabia (127 per cent) and Kuwait (135 per cent). While it may be too soon to predict, a double-digit growth is expected for Sri Lanka this year, said Heba Al Ghais Al Mansoori, Middle East director of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Board.
“Sri Lanka is ideally positioned as a destination to attract more regional travellers despite the credit crunch as stability has finally dawned on Sri Lanka with the war coming to an end and the destination offers very good value for money,” added Al Mansoori.
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