Sri Lanka records third highest annual tourist arrivals in 2024

Misses target of 2.3 million visitors

Sri Lanka
By Editor_1
Tourists on the Southern coastline -File

COLOMBO – Sri Lanka missed the 2024 tourist target of 2.3 million, but recorded its third-highest annual arrival in a year with a 38.1% growth led by Indians and Russians, official data showed.

The country received 2,053,465 in 2024, compared to 1,487,303 the previous year. Sri Lanka’s record high tourism arrival of 2,333,796 was recorded in 2018 followed by 2,116,407 in the years before that.

Sri Lanka is popular for nature with its beaches and tropical climate, with most European and Western tourists choosing it as the key destination during their winter season falling from November to February.

Analysts said confusion over the visa process from April to September this year could have slowed down arrivals, though the monthly arrivals have shown strong growth compared to the same month last year, but from a lower base.

At its peak in 2018, earnings from tourism accounted for 5% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

However, the Easter Sunday attacks on churches and high-end hotels in 2019, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, as well as the 2022 economic crisis, hit the country’s hospitality industry.

Earnings from tourism are expected to exceed $3 billion this year. The sector has already seen an inflow of $2.81 billion in the first 11 months.

Sri Lanka recorded a peak of $4.4 billion from tourism earnings in 2018 when the sector performed at its best.

Tourists from India accounted for 20% of the total 2.05 million arrivals followed by Russia (9.8%), the United Kingdom (8.7%), Germany (6.6%), and China (6%).

Sri Lanka boasts eight UNESCO World Heritage sites, including the ancient city of Sigiriya, the Dambulla Cave Temple, and the Sinharaja Forest Reserve, with the country’s unique biodiversity making it a hot spot for eco-tourism.

Tourists come to experience a range of activities, from pristine beaches in places like Mirissa and Unawatuna, to tea plantations in Nuwara Eliya and wildlife safaris in Yala and Udawalawe National Parks.

Despite setbacks from the Easter Sunday attacks in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic and economic challenges, the tourism industry has shown resilience, with government and private sector initiatives to revive the sector, which has been a key catalyst of the country’s economic recovery.

-economynext.com

 

Editor_1
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