By Shihar Aneez

COLOMBO, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Sri Lankan tourist arrivals, hard hit by renewed civil war, have picked up in August thanks to international events and conferences that industry officials hope will help change perceptions about visitor safety.

Tourist arrivals fell 23.7 percent in the first seven months of the year from the same period in 2006 to 268,963 visitors as the state fights a deadly new chapter in a two-decade civil war that has killed nearly 70,000 people since 1983.

However in August, the start of the peak tourist season, many hotels in the south and centre of the country were full, said Hiran Cooray, president of the Tourist Hotels Association.

"We can see an improvement in the occupancy rate during August-September. Rooms are 100 percent occupied at the moment until the end of next month," Cooray said.

Sri Lanka is hoping events like a regional AIDS conference this week, a tea convention later this month and a counter-terrorism conference and an England cricket tour due later this year will help fill the void and change perceptions.

In his welcome speech at the International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific on Sunday, Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva thanked delegates for showing confidence in Sri Lanka as a convention destination.

"I appreciate (your) courage to break past undue fears, created by some elements through a misinformation campaign to impose a travel embargo on Sri Lanka," he said.

Many foreign embassies have advised nationals to avoid north and east Sri Lanka amid an escalating bout of fighting that has killed more than 4,500 people since last year.

The separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels launched their first-ever air strike in March, hitting an air force base adjacent to the capital's international airport, which is 20 miles (32 km) north of the capital, Colombo.

Following another air strike the following month, this time on oil facilities north of the capital, night flights were suspended for weeks as a security measure.

The rebels, who are fighting for an independent state in the north and east of the island, have vowed to cripple the island's economy with major attacks on military and economic targets.

According to central bank data, earnings from tourism in January to April fell by 14.8 percent compared with last year to $130.8 million.

Sri Lanka's Convention Bureau, responsible for bidding to host international meetings, conferences and exhibitions, is seeking to build up the island's profile in the event tourism niche.

"We have to convey the correct message to these organisations and delegates, saying that the conflict is there, but they are safe. They are not the target," bureau general manager Vipula Wanigasekera said.

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