Passenger movements handled by the Bandaranaike International Airport
(BIA) has increased by 26 percent recording a total number of 3,860,507 passengers during the period of January to September this year.This is in comparison to 3,074,687 movements during the corresponding period of 2009. A Ports and Aviation Ministry Spokesman said this is due to the tourist boom and increasing of tourist arrivals from the second half of 2009 in post war in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka witnessed a sharp increase in tourist arrivals this year which has continued to rise every month after the restoration of peace. The total forecasted passenger movements for 2010 is 5,248,524 compared to 4,242,356 and 4,642,831 movements recorded in 2009 and 2008 respectively.
Meanwhile, plans are afoot to enhance passenger at the BIA. It has been planned to operate tax free appeal shopping mall facilities at the Katunayake, BOI zone to attract more visitors to Sri Lanka. This tax free shopping mall is located adjacent to the arrivals terminal and is connected by the sky bridge. It is also planned to refurbish the departure and arrival porches to add more elegance to the BIA. Similarly, connecting walkways will also be refurbished to provide an aesthetically pleasing environment. This project is expected to be completed by the end of 2011.
Related Info:
Sri Lanka Tourism Statistics and Tourist Arrivals
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