Sri Lanka’s ambassador to the US and Mexico, Jaliya Wickramasuriya, is mapping out plans to draw in 100,000 American tourist to the island by 2016 in part of an attempt to increase tourist traffic flow to Maldives and India.
He said, “We are working on an aggressive campaign to attract 100,000 American tourists to the island by 2016.”
In 2011, there was a 22 percent increase in tourists from North America to the country to 49,057 travelers compared to the year before. According to the tourism office, first six months of this year has also showed a 20 percent increase to 27,355 compared to last year of 22,753 travelers during the same time frame.
According to Wickramasuriya, tourism industry is expecting about 45,000 American tourists this year.
Most of the arrivals from North America are expatriates of the island.
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