Several stars of Bollywood began arriving in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo ahead of Thursday's opening of the International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) ceremony, officials said on Tuesday.

The IIFA ceremony to take place between Thursday and Saturday in Colombo is being treated by Sri Lanka as part of its tourism promotion.

"We aim to target 50 percent growth in Indian tourist arrivals after the event," Laxman Yapa Abeywardene, the deputy minister of Economic Development said.

Sri Lanka and India would also try to cement business partnership at the event, Sri Lankan officials said.

Over 100 movie stars from Bollywood are expected at the event.

A fashion show and a cricket match aimed at raising funds towards the development of the northern district of Jaffna also feature the IIFA ceremonies.

The grand finale of the ceremony is set to take place on Saturday.

Groups sympathetic to former Tamil Tiger rebels had pressurized some of the Indian stars not to attend the Colombo event citing alleged genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankan police have laid elaborate security plans for the event expected to be attended by over 2,000 Indian nationals.

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