According to the the data released by the.Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), the month of September recorded 105,535 tourists arriving in the country compared to the 90,339 arrivals in September 2013. In the first nine months of this year a total of 1,107,178 tourists arrived in the island recording a 22.4 percent increase from the 904,197 arrivals during the corresponding period in 2013.

Most of the tourist arrivals were from Western Europe with 355,154 tourists visiting in the first nine months of this year recording a 14.2 percent increase over corresponding 2013 figures. For the month of September 28,234 tourists from Western Europe arrived in the island which is 6.5% more than September 2013.

Arrivals from North America rose by 11.5 percent with 52,622 visitors for the first nine months in the year while arrivals from Eastern Europe increased 37.9 percent with the arrival of 106,940 tourists. Most of the arrivals from Eastern Europe were from Russia with 47,645 arrivals representing a 60.3 percent increase.

Tourist arrivals from Middle East rose in September by 35.5 percent to 8,289 and for the year arrivals increased by 16.7 percent to 71,713.

In the first nine months of the year 207,214 East Asians arrived in the island, an increase of 52.1 percent. Number of Chinese tourists arriving in the island rose by an impressive 141.4 percent to reach 94,994. In September alone tourists arrivals from China increased by 129.4 percent with 13,312 Chinese tourists visiting the island.

Arrivals from South Asia, the other region from where most of the tourists come, increased by 15.7 percent in the year with 258,357 tourists flocking to the island while, arrivals from India increased 18.0 percent to 170,671in the first nine months of 2014. For the month tourist arrivals from Maldives increased by 40.7 while arrivals from Pakistan declined by 17.7 percent.

In the first nine months of the year, 38,885 Australians arrived in the country, an 7.6 percent increase from the previous year.