Sunday Jun 12, 2011
Figures released by Sri Lanka's Tourism Authority showed that 68,830 Indians visited Sri Lanka between January and May this year, up 54.5 percent over the same period last year, Xinhua reports.

British tourists came second with their number growing 7.1 percent to 41,474 in the first five months of this year.

The number of Pakistani tourists jumped an astounding 98.1 percent to 6,027. It has been attributed mostly to Pakistani nationals visiting to watch cricket matches in the island nation.

Sri Lanka has seen an upsurge in tourist arrivals since the end to the armed conflict with the Tamil Tiger rebels.

Around 650,000 tourists arrived in the island country last year, and the figure is expected to increase by 100,000 this year.

Source: IANS