TOURISM activities in the year leading up to June this year has increased markedly, mainly due to the increase in the number of cruise boats visiting the country.

This was highlighted in the Central Bank of Solomon Islands Monetary Policy statement- September 2016.

The report states that activities in the tourism sector fared above trend, with visitor arrivals in year to June increased markedly by 26 percent against the second half of 2016 to 9,572 visitors.

The arrival numbers were boosted mainly by increases in the number of cruise boats that visited the country.

The report also said the number of air visitors on the other hand had fallen against the latter half of 2015 but was higher against the corresponding period a year ago.