Colombo, Jul 28 (IANS): Compared to the last two years, Sri Lanka expects to see a significant increase in the number of local and foreign tourists visiting destinations managed by the Department of Forest Conservation this year, a minister said on Sunday.

Addressing a press conference at the Presidential Media Centre, Pavithra Wanniarachchi, minister of wildlife, forest resources conservation, and irrigation, said 289,405 tourists visited these destinations in 2022, and in 2023, the number rose to 444,053.

A total of 364,521 tourists have visited these destinations in the first six months of 2024 alone, she said, Xinhua news agency reported.

Wanniarachchi said 19.8 per cent of these visitors were foreigners in 2022, and the figure has reached 40 per cent so far in 2024, she said.

The minister said dedicated sanitary facilities have been established exclusively for foreign passport holders at several popular tourist destinations.

Additionally, an online ticket reservation system is now available for Yala, Udawalawe, Horton Plains, Kaudulla, Minneriya, and Wilpattu national parks, she said.

About 1.1 million foreign tourists have arrived in Sri Lanka by mid-July and the country will record the highest number of foreign tourist arrivals per year in 2024 if current trends continue, an official said recently.