tourist arrivals sri lanka 2022

Tuesday, 22 Jan 2019 --> Last Updated : 2024-04-15 09:19:00

Group News Sites

Sunday Times

Tamil Mirror

Middleast Lankadeepa

Life Online

Home delivery

Advertise with us

Mobile Apps

Mon, 15 Apr 2024 Today's Paper

Tourism ends 2022 on high note with December recording third highest monthly tourist arrivals

3 January 2023 05:20 am - 5     - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

• Tourist arrivals in December cross 90,000 mark; total arrivals for year top 700,000 mark
• India, Russia and United Kingdom emerge as top three tourist traffic generators 
• China is expected to regain its position as a major source market for SL tourism this year

By Shabiya Ali Ahlam 

Sri Lanka tourism ended the year 2022 on a positive note, as the arrivals of international visitors to the country for the final month of the year crossed the 90,000 mark, while the total arrivals for the year topped 700,000. 

December saw a total of 91,961 tourists entering the island nation, recording the third highest monthly arrivals in 2022. The December arrivals were up 53.8 percent from the November tourist arrivals.  

This went on to further increase from December 23, just before the Christmas holidays, to 4,300.  With the key source markets showing keen interest in destination Sri Lanka toward the end of the year, the island nation ended 2022 with a total of 719,978 international visitors. 

The Tourism Ministry expected to close the year with at least 800,000 tourists, for which several initiatives and promotional campaigns were carried out in potential source markets in the fourth quarter. 

A mega promotional event was carried out in India. The industry stakeholders also took part in road shows in the United Kingdom and France, to put Sri Lanka back on the list of safe and secure destinations to travel to after the Covid-19 pandemic and social and political unrest that prevailed during the mid part of the year.  

Following the political and economic crisis that escalated in April, just after Sri Lanka saw tourist arrivals crossing the 100,000 mark in March—first time since the pandemic struck—the tourism sector was severely impacted with the travel advisories issued against visiting Sri Lanka. The negative portrayal of the country in international media made it increasingly challenging to draw tourists. However, with the return of stability, the tourist arrival numbers started moving towards the positive growth trajectory from October. 

Based on the provisional data released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, India was the largest tourist traffic generator for destination Sri Lanka in 2022, accounting for 17 percent of the total tourist arrivals.

Ranking second was the Russian Federation, accounting for 13 percent and the United Kingdom accounted for 12 percent, becoming the third largest source market.

This year, the tourism industry expects China to regain its position as one of the key source markets for Sri Lanka tourism. Starting from January 8, China’s National Health Commission announced that the inbound travellers would no longer have to go into quarantine and there would be no official restriction on Chinese people going abroad. 

However, with the COVID-19 infections and casualties on the rise in China, several countries across the world have been quick to impose fresh health protocols that are mandatory for Chinese travellers.

  Comments - 5

Riyaz Rauf -Toronto Tuesday, 03 January 2023 07:09 AM

Congratulations. However, Please note that most of the Tourists who arrived in December are Sri Lankan ex-pats who come to reunite with their families. Even I was in SL for a month . It's extremely important that we take care of this segment as well as promote the country to Foreigners. Good luck with Bigger success in 2023.

Reply 0       0 0       0 -->

Udarata Menike Tuesday, 03 January 2023 10:05 AM

The data is flawed. These are misrepresented job saving facts of the highflying tourism officials. Local expats constituted the biggest arrivals. They mostly reside with family or friends with little trickle down effect to the economy. Stop hoodwinking the public and get the real work done. These figures are as bad as the meaningless line ‘So Srilanka’

Udayanga Tuesday, 03 January 2023 11:19 AM

What Sri Lanka should be looking for is not the number of " tourist arrivals " during a period. We are hungry for Dollars or other Foreign Currency. If the Tourists don't bring significant amount of Foreign Currency but only come in numbers for other reasons like prostitution, business and employment etc. is there a reason to boast or be happy? There could even be compensation deals !

Tony Paul Perera Wednesday, 04 January 2023 01:54 PM

B.S. they count all Foreign pp holders including dual nationals. There is no proper counting.

Add comment Comments will be edited (grammar, spelling and slang) and authorized at the discretion of Daily Mirror online. The website also has the right not to publish selected comments.

Name - Reply Comment

RECOMMENDED

UDA owned land in Thalawathugoda; UDA Minister Prasanna Ranatunga under the spotlight for forceful occupation of reserved land

Loss-making SMIB faces political pressure in recovering loans

Baltimore Bridge Collapse: MV Dali, SL authorities anchored in mystery?

Has Sri Lanka become a potential hub for the illegal wildlife trade?

On March 26, a couple arriving from Thailand was arrested with 88 live animal

Spotlight on Moragahakanda Development Project Moragolla villagers lose livelihoods and down to one meal a day

According to villagers from Naula-Moragolla out of 105 families 80 can afford

Ambitious Sri Lankan jobseekers ‘trafficked into Ukraine war zones’

Is the situation in Sri Lanka so grim that locals harbour hope that they coul

Western purple-faced langurs see blue!

A recent post on social media revealed that three purple-faced langurs near t

Most Viewed in News

Belgian traveller scammed in kalutara.

Sri Lanka defaults on USD 6 billion payment despite rising reserves: Patali

Karuna loses Eastern battle but Prabhakaran loses Eelam war

23 year old youth ends up having his testicles removed

April 15 declared a government holiday

No decision to declare April 15 as public holiday

MIRROR CRICKET

Mendis, Mathews move up in ICC Test Rankings

10 Apr 2024 - 0     - 1172

Chamodi, Dewmi spins Sri Lanka U19 Women to big win

09 Apr 2024 - 3     - 407

Amir, Wasim return to Pakistan national team

09 Apr 2024 - 0     - 182

Sri Lanka captain quashes retirement speculation; sets sight on T20 World Cup Qualifiers

09 Apr 2024 - 0     - 1138

TODAY'S HEADLINES

Xi calls for fair, transparent environment for investment in sri lanka.

11 Apr 2024

Sri Lanka Air Force organizes Colombo Air Show and Defence Exhibition (CADE 2024)

9 year-old child fatally hit by train at railway crossing, slpp mps barred from going public on their support for presidential candidates.

10 Apr 2024

Security raised for Champions League ties after threat

09 Apr 2024

SLA target four events at Paris Olympic Games

International tourism, number of arrivals - Sri Lanka

Selected Countries and Economies

All countries and economies.

• Privacy Notice
• Access to Information

This site uses cookies to optimize functionality and give you the best possible experience. If you continue to navigate this website beyond this page, cookies will be placed on your browser. To learn more about cookies, click here.

Sri Lanka Tourist Arrivals

The number of foreign tourist arrivals in sri lanka jumped by 66.7% year-on-year to 209.2 thousand in march 2024, following a 102.8% surge in the previous month. by region, europe accounted for the largest share of tourist visits (58.6%), followed by asia and the pacific region (34.6%) and the americas (5.9%t). among key markets, india was the largest source of foreign tourists at 15.2%, followed by the russian federation (13.4%), the uk (10.3%), germany (.8.8%), china (6.2%), and france (5.2%). considering the first three months of the year, foreign tourist arrivals soared 89.4% to 635.8 thousand compared to the same period of the previous year. by 2024, the government forecasts tourist arrivals will completely rebound, surpassing 2019 levels with a projected growth of 2%. in 2023, foreign tourist visits surged by 106.6% to 1.5 million compared to the previous year. source: ceylon tourist board, tourist arrivals in sri lanka increased to 218350 in february from 208253 in january of 2024. tourist arrivals in sri lanka averaged 54385.06 from 1977 until 2024, reaching an all time high of 253169.00 in december of 2018 and a record low of 0.00 in april of 2020. this page provides - sri lanka tourist arrivals - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news. sri lanka tourist arrivals - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on april of 2024.,   markets,   gdp,   labour,   prices,   money,   trade,   government,   business,   consumer,   housing,   taxes,   health,   climate.

Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations

Media Release

• Google Plus

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs notes that attention has been focused on the revision of the U.S. Travel Advisory on Sri Lanka as at 6 April 2022.   The Ministry recalls that since June 2021, with the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Travel Advisory for Sri Lanka has remained at Level 3, and as such has not been newly introduced in the latest revision. In addition, the language related to ‘terrorism’ was introduced following the Easter Sunday attacks and has stayed consistent since April 2019. It is understood that the reference to terrorism in the U.S. Travel Advisory is based on standard language included in U.S. Travel Advisories around the world where a risk of terrorism exists or has existed, and as such is not specific to Sri Lanka. The Ministry also understands that currently a U.S. Travel Advisory at Level 4 is applicable to many countries, whereas Sri Lanka is at Level 3.   The tourism industry in Sri Lanka is gradually emerging from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and as at 29 March 2022, tourist arrivals to the country stood at 280,026. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to reiterate that the country remains safe and open for tourists. Sri Lanka continues to welcome travellers to the country and remains committed to provide all visitors with the utmost care and service. The recent peaceful protests have not targeted tourists or tourist destinations. All visitors to the country may travel freely throughout the country and all tourist destinations remain open. It is noteworthy that CNN’s “where to travel in 2022” had featured Colombo in their travel list.     Ministry of Foreign Affairs Colombo   08 April, 2022

Sri Lanka records nearly 720,000 tourist arrivals in 2022

Tourists arrive in Sri Lanka at Katunayake Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA). (Photo by Pradeep Dambarage / Nurphoto)

A total of 719,978 tourists have arrived in Sri Lanka as of 31 December 2022, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) noted.

Accordingly, with 91,961 arrivals for the month of December alone, Sri Lanka reported an increase of 525,483 tourist arrivals in 2022, compared to the 194,495 arrivals recorded in the year 2021.

Latest Headlines in Sri Lanka

• Sri Lanka President’s Message for the Sinhala and Tamil New Year 2024 April 14, 2024
• Kristalina Georgieva selected for second term as IMF’s Managing Director April 13, 2024
• Sri Lanka Police to reward officers Rs. 5,000 for each drunk driver apprehended April 12, 2024
• Sri Lanka Navy intercepts two fishing trawlers carrying 200 kg of narcotics April 12, 2024
• Chicken Prices spike at Economic Centres in Sri Lanka April 12, 2024

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sinhala Chat Room

Search news.

• Hire a Freelance Web Developer
• Best Web Hosting Deals

Recent Comments

• Eresha on Forward Complaints on Bus Services to 0117 555 555 – Sri Lanka Transport Board
• Roxie de Abrew on SJB signs MoU with several members of Nidahasa Janatha Sabhawa
• Dr Michael Fernando on Sri Lanka Donates $1 Million to assist Gaza’s conflict-affected Children
• Dr Michael Fernando on Singapore cargo ship Dali was carrying toxic waste to Sri Lanka: Report
• Roxie de Abrew on Sri Lanka Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena meets Chinese President Xi Jinping

Storyteller

• Attachment and detachment of desires
• The Proud Rose
• Time is precious, use it wisely
• Don’t live by other people’s words
• Best motivational stories

Home » Sri Lanka records nearly 720,000 tourist arrivals in 2022

• About Onlanka website
• Terms and Conditions

The power of unity 

President wickremesinghe highlights renewal and unity in new year message, ministry of health advises caution with fireworks during festive season, sri lanka’s expressways record rs. 126 million in revenue over three days, sri lanka resorted to phased para-tariffs reduction to promote exports  .

Latest Posts

Sri lanka‘s tourist arrivals reach over 50,000 mark this month (nov 2022).

Sri Lanka’s short- and long-term plans to revive the troubled tourism sector have begun to bear fruit with the support of resilient and agile tourism stakeholders.

Tourism Minster Harin Fernando affirmed Sri Lanka’s tourism industry bounced back over the past three months, despite the multiple challenges.

“Things are turning out to be good. Over the last three months, tourism has picked up in Sri Lanka. The industry is strong, and the hoteliers and travel agents have a long history and vast experience. Tourism is one industry Sri Lanka needs to put our hands up and perform,” he said.

 Minister Fernando expressed confidence in Sri Lanka’s product offering, adding that the industry has a short and long-term plan to revive the billion-dollar tourism industry.

The monthly tourist arrivals to the country crossed the 50,000 mark for the first time since the political and economic crisis erupted, indicating that the country’s tourism industry is moving towards some form of revival.

For the November 01-27 period, the island nation welcomed 51,865 international visitors.After April 2022, when the arrivals dropped to 62,980, from 106,500 in March, the highest-ever arrival for the year thus far, November shows improved interest towards Sri Lanka among tourists from across the world.

With the arrival numbers for the November 01-27 period, the tourist arrival total for the year is 620,120, the provisional data released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority showed.

The daily arrival average for November so far is 1,920, a significant improvement when compared with the daily arrival average witnessed in recent months.

The analysis of the weekly arrival numbers also shows a steady increase in the arrival numbers, where the momentum achieved from the fourth week of October is maintained.

For the first week (November 01-07), 12,431 visitors entered Sri Lanka. In the second week (November 08 -14), the arrival increased to 13,051. In the third week, the number further expanded to 14,298. For the fourth week (November 22-27), a dip is seen, where the tourist arrivals fell to 12,085.

The tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka for November are led by the Russian Federation, which accounted for 24 percent of the total arrivals.

India ranks as the second largest tourist traffic generator, bringing in 18 percent of the total tourists to Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom ranks as the third largest source market, accounting for 8 percent of the total tourist arrivals.

 The month of November saw tourists entering the country not only by air but also by sea. Last week, luxury cruise liner Viking Mars docked at the Colombo Port, bringing in 900 tourists.

Mein Schiff 5, owned by TUI Cruises, is expected to arrive at the East Container Terminal today, bringing in 2030 passengers and 945 crew members, Tourism Minister Harin Fernando announced recently.

• Lanka News Web

Don't Miss

Inland revenue department to crack down on profiteering traders., sri lanka’s failure to black list defaulting contractors creates global trade issues., sri lanka original narrative summary: 10/04, ministry of education announces schedule for first term of academic year 2024, lanka sathosa reduces prices for eight essential commodities, stay in touch.

To be updated with all the latest news, offers and special announcements.

• Privacy Policy

Tourism in Sri Lanka: One step forward, two steps back

A spiralling economic crisis is hurting tourism, a key source of dollars that had barely revived after three bad years.

Colombo, Sri Lanka – Tourism in Sri Lanka just can’t seem to catch a break.

Three years ago, the number of tourists was down 18 percent following the Easter Sunday bombings in April 2019. The coronavirus pandemic that followed in 2020 was particularly bad. Arrivals fell drastically and there were no signs of recovery until November 2021, when the government removed all quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated tourists, encouraging vacationers to come to the island state.

Keep reading

As foreign reserves slip, sri lanka to devalue currency, sri lanka reverses course, seeks financial support from imf, sri lanka secures $1bn credit line from india as imf signals help, sri lankan protesters demand president quit over economic crisis.

It was a welcome change as tourism is the third-largest source of foreign exchange for the country – behind worker remittances and the apparel industry – a large employer and an important source of dollars that help the government run the country.

But now as Sri Lanka grapples with the worst financial crisis the country has ever faced, there are daily power cuts and people are forced to stand in kilometres-long queues to buy fuel and cooking gas . Inflation was 17.5 percent  in February and the government has further tightened its restrictions on imports, exacerbating shortages. All of this is once again keeping tourists away – at a time when the government is scrambling to find ways to repay an overwhelming amount of foreign loans and needs those tourist dollars. 

“We need to find solutions for these people as soon as possible,” President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said in his national address on Sri Lanka’s independence day earlier in February. “As such, whilst strictly adhering to health recommendations, we have acted to restart the tourism industry in a phased manner.”

Worsening economic conditions

“Business has been fantastic the last few months,” said Kate Hopkinson, a foreign national who owns a restaurant and a bed and breakfast in Weligama, a popular coastal town in the south of the country. The prevailing economic conditions, however, are making it extremely tough for her to keep her business running.

“Due to the gas shortage, we have to buy on the black market, food prices are skyrocketing, [and] flour and imported goods are getting harder and harder to source. We run an Italian restaurant and we need cheese, but that is in short supply because of the import restrictions and local alternatives are getting pricier due to the milk shortage,” Hopkinson said.

Hopkinson is not the only one suffering. Restaurant owner Rasika Lakmal and lifestyle and travel ambassador Paloma Monnappa operate tourism businesses in the popular coastal towns of Galle and Unawatuna.

“We are facing four- to seven-hour-long power cuts daily. Fishermen are forced to cut back on fishing due to the fuel shortage, [and] shipping containers with essential items are stuck at the port because the country doesn’t have the money to pay for them”, said Monnappa.

“Every time you think of a possible solution you’re faced with a new issue or obstacle. You buy a generator but there’s no diesel to run it. We are desperate for tourists, but how do we cater to them? My Sri Lankan friends tell me the economy wasn’t this bad even during the war,” she said.

While some restaurants are buying gas from other cities like Colombo and Matara, Lakmal says that’s not an option for him. “If we do that then it costs about 10,000 Sri Lankan rupees ($35), more than double the normal price. We can’t afford that,” he said.

Spillover from the Russia-Ukraine war

Sri Lanka’s usual top tourism source markets are India, China, the United Kingdom and Germany, but since tourism’s reopening, many visitors have been coming from the Eastern bloc, with Russia and Ukraine bringing in 25 percent of arrivals between January and mid-February, partly on the back of active marketing by the tourism authorities targeting those regions.

However, Western sanctions on Russia like the ban on the SWIFT international payment system have now spilled over onto Sri Lanka as well. “Inquiries from Ukraine and Russian nationals came to a complete halt,” Dimitra Fernando, who manages a chain of villas for tourists to rent, told Al Jazeera. “We had Russian guests who were already in the country, but they cancelled all their bookings with us because they did not have money to pay. They couldn’t use their cards, nor could they withdraw money.”

But the main issue continues to be Sri Lanka’s own economic situation. The UK government, for instance, updated its travel advisory for Sri Lanka and warned travellers of shortages and power outages. “Inquiries from the UK and Middle-Eastern market have slowed down so much after the travel advisories,” said Fernando. “We manage eight villas, but we have not had even one booking since.”

Nuwan Amarasuriya, who works for a travel agency that gets most of its business from travellers from the UK, told Al Jazeera that the agency’s clients are “very concerned” about the ongoing shortage of fuel and other essentials, “so we are constantly in touch with them to reassure them”.

Authorities have ensured that tourism vehicles would be given priority in fuel queues, but this has caused anger among locals who are forced to queue for hours. A heated argument broke out in a town in Colombo this week when police officers attempted to allow a tourist coach to pump fuel ahead of others.

Labour shortages

Immediate problems aside, the industry must also address its labour shortage.

Although tourism has been growing in significance for the Sri Lankan economy, it struggled with labour shortages long before COVID-19. In 2018, Malik Fernando, head of the industry body the Tourism Skills Committee, told a roomful of tourism stakeholders that the country needs 100,000 more tourism sector employees within the next three years. “Yet, we only train about 10,000 each year,” he said.

Lakmal has been struggling to find staff for his restaurant in Unawatuna most of whom have “moved on” to other occupations and industries after the last couple of bad years. “They are not interested in working in the tourism industry anymore,” he said.

With the ongoing economic crisis the skills shortage is likely to become more acute as many tourism workers are looking at moving overseas or are not interested in returning to an uncertain industry.

“The issue with the Sri Lankan tourism industry is the pay structure,” said Ahamed Nizar, a tourism consultant. “There is a low basic pay which is topped up with service charges and tips, but that depends on how well the property is performing. So obviously without any tourists, workers were earning next to nothing the last few years and it was very difficult to survive.”

Nizar says he’s seen many skilled tourism workers migrate while the unskilled workers have found alternate options with stable pay. One of his clients doesn’t offer a dinner service any more because of the shortage of staff, while another is making do with a skeletal staff, he said.

A bumpy road ahead

While COVID-19 appears to be in the rearview mirror as far as Sri Lanka is concerned, the worsening economic situation has cast a heavy shadow on tourism. The government’s attempt to preserve what little foreign exchange reserves it has with measures like restricting imports of food items has had a severe impact on the availability of essential goods.

“Some restaurants have had to close for days because of the gas shortage; some have had to remove or reduce their menu offerings due to the import bans and rising cost of local food items. The power cuts are very difficult to explain to tourists. They do empathise with our plight, but nobody wants to come on holiday and sit in the darkness and the heat,” sighs Nizar.

This website stores cookies on your computer. These cookies are used to collect information about how you interact with our website and allow us to remember you. We use this information in order to improve and customize your browsing experience and for analytics and metrics about our visitors both on this website and other media. To find out more about the cookies we use, see our Cookies Policy .

If you decline, your information won’t be tracked when you visit this website. A single cookie will be used in your browser to remember your preference not to be tracked.

Sri Lanka Visitor Arrivals

• Sri Lanka Visitor Arrivals recorded 218,350 person in Feb 2024, compared with 208,253 person in the previous month
• Sri Lanka Visitor Arrivals data is updated monthly, available from Jan 1979 to Feb 2024
• The data reached an all-time high of 253,169 person in Dec 2018 and a record low of 0 person in Nov 2020

View Sri Lanka's Visitor Arrivals from Jan 1979 to Feb 2024 in the chart:

What was Sri Lanka's Visitor Arrivals in Feb 2024?

Sri Lanka Visitor Arrivals recorded 218,350 person in Feb 2024, compared with 208,253 person in the previous month See the table below for more data.

Visitor Arrivals by Country Comparison

Buy selected data, accurate macro & micro economic data you can trust.

Explore the most complete set of 6.6 million time series covering more than 200 economies, 20 industries and 18 macroeconomic sectors.

Sri Lanka Key Series

More indicators for sri lanka, request a demo of ceic.

CEIC’s economic databases cover over 200 global markets. Our Platform offers the most reliable macroeconomic data and advanced analytical tools.

Explore our Data

Monday Apr 15, 2024

Group News Sites

Dailymirror

Sunday Times

Tamil Mirror

Middleast Lankadeepa

Life Online

Home delivery

Advertise with us

Tourism industry begins 2022 with 82,327 arrivals

Wednesday, 2 February 2022 00:13 -     - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

• Russia dominates tourist traffic with 16% followed by India, Ukraine, UK, Germany and France
• 89,506 post-COVID record set in December remains unbeaten

Sri Lanka was upbeat with signs of a good start in 2022, as arrivals topped the 82,000 mark in January amidst COVID-challenges. As per provisional data released by the Tourism Ministry yesterday, a total of 82,327 tourists arrived in January. However, January arrivals could not beat the 89,506 recorded in December – the highest for a month since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020. Despite a surge in its COVID cases, Russia continues to dominate with 16% as the top tourist source market for Sri Lanka with 13,478 tourists followed by India with 11,751, Ukrainian 7,774, UK 7,442, Germany 5,339 and France 3,616. In addition, tourists were also received from countries such as Poland, Australia, Maldives and Kazakhstan in January. The first week of January saw 20,544 tourists, but the trend slowed down in the second and third weeks to 18,628 and 16,917 respectively as a result of the spike in global COVID cases. However, the fourth week again showed a sharp increase of arrivals with 26,238. Sri Lanka revised down the tourist arrivals forecast for 2022 to 1.1 million from an earlier ambitious goal of luring 2.3 million, a move influenced by the surge in ‘Omicron’ variant in major source markets. Tourism Minister Ranatunga on Sunday said that the spike in COVID cases, particularly in top source markets in Western Europe and India, has slowed down the tourist arrivals, whilst the strict outbound travel restrictions imposed by China and Japan, too, had impacted the numbers.  Last week, he told the Daily FT that the monthly target of 100,000 to 125,000 arrivals will not be accomplished, noting that the future trend of tourism remains uncertain amidst the evolving nature of the pandemic and other correlated variables such as travel restrictions, vaccination rates and efforts in curtailing the pandemic. As of yesterday, COVID-19 cases reported globally amounted to 379.63 million in 200 countries with 5.7 million deaths. The US, India and Brazil have seen the highest number of confirmed cases, followed by France, UK, and Russia. Since mid-2021, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) rolled out promotions in several countries, including Russia, France, Germany and the UK. The inflow of tourists has been boosted by increased connectivity as well by international airlines. The stakeholders hoped that if the momentum would continue till the first half of the year, the industry would see a faster recovery. Sri Lanka lost over $ 10 billion during the past two years from tourism sector earnings.

• All Stories
• Brand Voice
• General Economy
• Op-ed/Special Reports
• Bonds & Forex
• Commodities
• Stocks & Companies
• Political News
• Environment
• International news
• Info graphics
• Namal Suvendra
• Construction and Real Estate
• General Industry
• Agriculture
• General Services

Sri Lanka revises down 2022 tourism target to 800,000

Thursday October 6, 2022 5:30 pm

• Expected tourist numbers drops to 800,000 from one million
• Expected revenue drops to 1.7 billion USD from 1.8 billion USD

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka has revised tourist arrival expectations for 2022 and also lowered revenue targets for the year, Minister of Tourism Harin Fernando said.

Total tourist arrivals for the year so far till end September is roughly 526,000 and generated only around 829 million US dollars in revenue.

Tourism authorities had anticipated one million arrivals generating a revenue of 1.8 billion dollars.

“As per the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Board (SLTDB) president, we are expecting another 300,000 tourists for the next three months,” Minister Fernando said speaking to reporters on Thursday October 06 at a press briefing on a tourism promotion programme in India.

“September is a low tourist arrival month for Sri Lanka. It usually picks up in mid-October and goes till January next year.

“In terms of arrivals, we are eager to get up to one million, but the target expectation is around 800-850,000 with a revenue target of around 1.7 billion US dollars,” he said.

Sri Lanka’s tourism sector, which was affected by a series of events since 2019 starting with the Easter Sunday bombings, was further disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. The sector’s woes have extended to late 2022 due to travel restrictions imposed by various countries after a period of unrest and a prevailing currency crisis, significantly impacting  inbound and outbound tourism.

Official data showed that tourist numbers which exceeded more than 100,000 in March has come down to around 29,000 due to the unstable situation in the country.

“The target is a bit high, but if you aim at a higher amount you will at least end up closer to it,” said Fernando.

The minister claimed that “negative” news coverage by foreign media has impacted the image of the island, resulting in many potential inbound tourists from changing their travel plans.

Meanwhile, Suren Ediriweera, the President of the Sri Lanka Inbound Tour Operators Association said travel agents in Europe have told Sri Lanka to expect an increase in bookings in the coming months with the start of the winter season.

“For example, in Switzerland, it is starting to get cold. So our agents have told us to be ready for a boom in tourist bookings,” said Ediriweera.

“November to April is a welcome time for European travelers in Sri Lanka. Germany and Switzerland in particular have asked us to be vigilant in that regard,” he said. (Colombo/Oct06/2022)

Leave a Comment

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

{{#message}}{{{message}}}{{/message}}{{^message}}Your submission failed. The server responded with {{status_text}} (code {{status_code}}). Please contact the developer of this form processor to improve this message. Learn More {{/message}}

{{#message}}{{{message}}}{{/message}}{{^message}}It appears your submission was successful. Even though the server responded OK, it is possible the submission was not processed. Please contact the developer of this form processor to improve this message. Learn More {{/message}}

Submitting…

1 Arms manufacturers show Indian capability to Sri Lankan military

2 sri lanka to grow 1.9-pct in 2024 despite tax hikes: adb, 3 sri lanka diesel sales at 7-month high in march, petrol at 3-month high, 4 sri lanka making new economic laws to embed structural reforms, 5 sri lanka making national tariff policy for export orientation, sri lanka seeks parliamentary budget officer for rs655,000.

Monday April 15, 2024 9:18 am

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s is seeking an official on a five-year contract to set up a parliamentary budget office (PBO) which will vet financial legislation and proposals, according to a public notice.

“Powerful PBO will work independently and coordinate via Committee on Public Finance and be accountable to Parliament,” COPF chief Harsha de Silva said.

“PBO will analyse every public finance document and brief MPs on costs benefits plus.”

According to the advertisement the applicant should have at least “10-years in government budgeting, financial policy, fiscal policy, macroeconomic analysis, and/ or the expenditure management system in Sri Lanka.”

The selected person should set up an office with 20 plus persons de Silva said.

“Great opportunity for a former senior multilateral agency professional if below 65 years,” he said.

Among skills sought were: capacity to navigate and respond to competing interests in complex, partisan situations in a manner that maintains individual and institutional

Independence and the “ability to quickly synthesize and effectively communicate complex information in clear language to non-technical audiences and act as a spokesperson when interacting with the public, media, public institutions, parliamentarians, governments, and other organizations.”

The monthly salary scale specified for the post was 358,150 – 5X10,030 – 408,360/- and the minimum initial gross monthly remuneration together with all other allowances would be about 665,000 rupees.

The monthly salary scale for the Deputy was 302,510 – 5X8,470 – 344,860/- and the minimum initial gross monthly remuneration together with all other allowances will be approximately 560,000 rupees. (Colombo/Apr15/2024)

No rice imports permitted in Sri Lanka, says State FinMin

Monday April 15, 2024 9:00 am

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka government has not allowed any rice imports and the permission to buy the staple food outside the country for the public consumption has not been granted to anybody, State Finance Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said.

The island nation, which is self sufficient in rice production, imports the staple food from time to time when there is scarcity or the traders stubbornly maintain high prices at retail level.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s government reduced import tax on rice by 65 rupee per kilo to 1 rupee in January this year to import some rice and control high domestic prices.

The move came after millers and collectors drove up the price due to lack of free trade.

However, State Finance Minister Siyambalapitiya said no permission has been given for the import of rice and only the required quantity of Basmati rice has been given for the needs of tourist hotels.

“…the minister mentioned that the government gave an opportunity to import rice when there was a risk of rice shortage last February,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement quoting the minister at an event.

“At that time, a quantity of rice that had been brought a few days later was stuck in the port. So, the minister mentioned that although he was given a week’s time to release that quantity of rice, that time has now expired.”

The government’s import tax reduction on rice was effective only through January 21, 2024.

Sri Lanka controls the import of rice to keep domestic prices artificially high.

Majority of Sri Lankans do not like value added tax. However, most of them do not bother over taxes imposed on basic food for economic nationalism.

There are also economic nationalism taxes as well as import duties on maize, which pushes up animal feed prices, chicken, egg and dairy products citing that those taxes will protect domestic producers.

However, analysts say producers at farm gate level never get the benefits of higher prices paid by consumers due to multiple layers of intermediaries. (Colombo/April 15/2024)

Sri Lanka private credit expands in February

Monday April 15, 2024 7:33 am

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s private credit from rupee banking units of commercial banks expanded 22.9 billion rupees in February 2024, after contracting 65.8 billion rupees in January, official data showed.

Private credit along with US dollar denominated loans grew only 7.3 billion rupees to 7,321.5 billion rupees, with dollar denominated loans contracting to 529.6 billion rupees from 545.2 billion rupees amid rupee appreciation.

With the appreciation of the rupee reducing stock holding costs of importers and other producers, working capital credit requirement could also fall giving more ‘bang for buck.’

Central bank credit contracted 121 billion rupees in February, after contracting 91 billion rupees in January 2024, keeping the balance of payments in surplus.

Credit to government from commercial banks went up by around 100 billion rupees to 6,153.4 billion rupees in February, but overall credit from the banking system was down amid the central bank credit contraction.

Reserve money, as measured, also fell by 74 billion rupees to 1,413.7 billion rupees. (Colombo/Apr15/2024)

Our Site Uses Cookies

We use cookies to help us improve and customize your experience. Learn more about how we use cookies in our cookie policy .

• GENERAL ECONOMY
• bellwhether
• BOND AND FOREX
• COMMODITIES
• stocks and companies
• political news
• environment
• international news
• infographics
• namal suvendra
• construction and real estate
• general industry
• agriculture
• general service

Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 1/1/20) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated 1/1/20). Your California Privacy Rights. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. Ad Choices.

Gain clarity on the biggest stories of the day with our daily newsletter, Morning Briefing

© 2023 Echelon Media (PVT) Ltd. All Rights Reserved

• Reunion Island
• South Africa
• El Salvador
• Philippines
• South Korea
• Czech Republic
• Netherlands
• Switzerland
• Ras Al-Khaimah
• Saudi Arabia
• New Zealand

• Entertainment
• Agents & Operator
• Write for India Outbound
• Work for India Outbound
• Partner with us
• Advertise with us

Tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka exceed 700,000 in 2022

Sri Lanka has received 701,331 visitors this year up to Dec 26

Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka crossed the 700,000 mark with 73,314 visitors during the first 26 days of December, says Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), while releasing its provisional estimates for the total tourist arrivals. SLTDA says that the number of tourists received during December is the fourth highest in the year so far and the biggest monthly figure since April as well. The best arrivals for the year were recorded in March with 106,500 tourists, followed by February with 96,507 and January with 82,327.

The provisional data released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) says that a total of 701,331 visitors arrived in the country by December 26. It also showed that the daily average arrivals have grown by a healthy 42 pc to 2,820 in December, compared to 1,992 recorded in November. SLTDA says that the growth in December arrivals was largely due to Russian tourists.

The body adds that in the first 26 days of December, Russia topped the tourist inflow with 21 pc or 15,681 of total arrivals, followed by India with 13,892, UK with 6,510 Australia with 4,254, and Germany with 3,797. In addition, travellers from the US, Maldives, France, Canada, and Israel were welcomed in Sri Lanka, says SLTDA.

Russia also emerged as the second biggest source market year-to-date relegating the UK to number three. There had been 86,990 tourists from the Russian Federation. Giving a further boost, Red Wings, a national carrier of the Russian Federation, has begun charter flight operations to Sri Lanka’s Mattala International Airport twice per week. It will be the third Russian airline serving direct flights to Sri Lanka.

SLTDA says that India remained strong as the top tourist source market for Sri Lanka with a cumulative number of arrivals in the current year at 119,546. UK was third with 83,818, Germany with 54,355, France with 35,011, Australia with 30,020, Canada with 26,343, US 21,662, Maldives 17,954 and Poland 15,062.

The arrival of the luxury cruise liners ─ Azamara Quest, Ocean Odyssey and Silver Spirit as well as the resumption of many international airlines and charter flights, the global promotions at the ITM Paris, India and WTM were the key reasons for the favourable pick-up arrival figures, says SLTDA.

“As per our latest revised target, we were looking at around 750,000 tourists by the end of the year, but I think we will end up with 720,000, which I believe is still an amazing achievement,” Tourism Minister Harin Fernando was cited by a Colombo daily. Though the number is lower than the original target of 1 million visitors in 2022, the tourism minister expressed confidence that the target of tourism receipts of USD 1.7 billion in the current year.

Industry veterans expressed optimism about early indications of a successful winter season, whilst asserting that it was imperative to maintain the current momentum to achieve the set target of 1.5 million arrivals and over USD 5 billion in income next year.

Leave a Reply Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Read our Magazine

Sabre announces strategic technology partnership with interparktriple.

India Outbound is India’s only B2B travel media platform, that encompasses a print magazine, a website, an online TV channel and dynamic social media platforms, entirely dedicated to the promotion of foreign destinations and products in India. Read More

Subscribe to our newsletter

IO General B2B Newsletter IO Africa B2B Newsletter

Advertisement

Video of the week

Twitter Feed

Instagram feed.

• Market Analysis
• Experiences
• Privacy Policy

Get Magazine

World Bank raises Sri Lanka's growth forecast to 2.2% for 2024

• Medium Text

The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here.

Reporting by Uditha Jayasinghe; Writing by Sudipto Ganguly; Editing by Tom Hogue and Lincoln Feast.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. New Tab , opens new tab

World Chevron

Australian police say Sydney knife attacker may have targeted women

Australian police said on Monday the attacker who fatally stabbed six people at a busy shopping centre in Sydney's beach suburb of Bondi may have targeted women, as the country mourned the victims and hundreds of people laid flowers near the scene.

Landslides on Indonesia's Sulawesi island on the weekend killed at least 18 people with rescue efforts, including police sniffer dogs, still ongoing for two missing people, local authorities said on Monday.

Monthly Tourist Arrivals Reports 2023

• Tourism Development Levy
• Sri Lanka Tourist Attractions
• Tourism News

Sri Lanka Tourism Strategic Plane 2017 - 2020

Download Application

English Application

Sinhala application, tamil application.

Monthly Tourist Arrivals Reports for the months from January to December which consists of information on tourist arrivals and hotel occupancy was published.

Arrivals Report January 2023

Arrivals Report February 2023

Arrivals Report March 2023

Arrivals Report March 2023

Arrivals Report April 2023

Arrivals Report May 2023

Arrivals Report June 2023

Arrivals Report July 2023

Arrivals Report July 2023

Arrivals Report August 2023

Arrivals Report September 2023

Arrivals Report October 2023

Arrivals Report November 2023

Arrivals Report November 2023

Arrivals Report December 2023