Arrivals from Western Europe rose 13.7 percent to 43,635 with Britain growing 26.1 percent to 11,031 and Germany up 8.1 percent to 8,276.
Arrivals from France rose 4.0 percent to 6,632, Netherlands was up 1.1 percent to 3,020 and Switzerland was up 27.1 percent to 2,980.
Visitors from Eastern Europe rose 17 percent to 7,218 with Russian arrivals up 9.6 percent to 3,286 and from Ukraine 2,788 up 38.7 percent.
Visitors from the Middle East rose 5.8 percent to 3,887.
East Asian arrivals rose 22.7 percent to 12,589 led by an 89.1 percent increase in Chinese visitors followed by Japan at 2,676 up 14.1 percent.
Sri Lanka's tourist authorities and the industry has been pushing for more tourists from China. In the first two months Chinese arrivals were up 57.9 percent to 6,145 from a year earlier.
Malaysian visitors rose 27.9 percent to 1,973 while tourists from Singapore dropped 23 percent to 1,030 and those from Taiwan fell 67 percent to 262. Korean visitors also dropped 23.7 percent to 492.
South Asian visitors rose only 2.5 percent to 15,897, with India Sri Lanka's largest generating dropping 1.8 percent to 11,139.
India became Sri Lanka's top tourist market after visas were dropped about decade ago, but they were re-imposed last year.
The Indian economy weakened last year and there has also been unease between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka following nationalist action against Sri Lankans visiting the area. Sri Lanka's state-run national carrier cut flights to India.
http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/news/Sri_Lanka_tourist_arrivals_up_11.6-pct_in_February/931336089