Tourism arrivals hit 400,000 mark

Sri Lanka tourism arrivals reached 400,000 for 2023 yesterday (18) achieving 27% of its target set for the year according to Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA).

An ambitious target of 1.5 million arrivals for 2023 was set with projected revenue in the excess of USD 4 billion. This includes an average USD 400 spent by a tourist per day. As the world slowly recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism is gradually resuming in many countries. Sri Lanka is one such country that has been working hard to attract tourists back to its shores. From January to mid April 2023, Sri Lanka saw a significant increase in tourist arrivals

compared to the same period last year.

According to the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), the majority of tourists were from India and Europe, followed by Asia and the Pacific and a new market is emerging from the Middle East and African markets. “For the second week in succession India beat Russia to be the number one source destination to Sri Lanka. With the proposed ferry service to take off in May between KKS and Pondicherry India is expected to be the biggest arrival destination for Sri Lanka. The dawning of the summer in Russia will also dip the number of Russian arrivals,” an official from SLTDA said.

“There was also a trend where Chinese arrivals are now picking up and this market too would be a major force to be reckoned with especially during the upcoming off season. We can expect to see a further increase in tourist arrivals in the coming months.”