Sri Lanka’s tourism revenue lags despite surge in arrivals

Sri Lanka
By Editor_1
Sri Lanka’s tourism revenue has remained lower since August this year despite a sharp rise in tourist arrivals, following a downward revision in estimated per-day tourist spending – Getty Images

COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s tourism revenue has remained lower since August this year despite a sharp rise in tourist arrivals, following a downward revision in estimated per-day tourist spending, senior Central Bank officials said on Wednesday (26).

The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) updates its revenue calculations based on periodic surveys. In August, the agency revised estimated daily tourist spending to US$148, down from US$171, after identifying “weaknesses” in the previous methodology.

“There were some weaknesses in estimating the per-day spending. They have revised it based on a new survey,” Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe told reporters following the announcement of the latest monetary policy decision.

Official data shows that tourism income, which makes up nearly 3% of Sri Lanka’s GDP, has failed to keep pace with the continuing surge in arrivals.

In October, tourism revenue inched up only 0.3%, even as arrivals jumped 21.5% year-on-year, while in September, earnings rose 1%, while arrivals surged 30%, and in July, revenue fell 3%, although arrivals grew 6.6%. In August, revenue dropped 8.2%, despite arrivals increasing 20.4%.

Sujeetha Jeganathan, Director of the Central Bank’s Economic Research Department, said the revision in spending estimates explains why the sector’s earnings are not tracking the rise in visitor numbers.

“Even though tourist arrivals have almost reached 2018 levels, in terms of revenue, we are not going to reach the 2018 level,” she said, adding, “We will end up closer to last year’s earnings.”

Sri Lanka earned US$3.17 billion from tourism in 2024, a robust 53.2% increase from US$2.07 billion in 2023, supported by a 38.1% rise in arrivals to 2.05 million.

However, meeting the ambitious goals set by the new government, a record US$5 billion in revenue and 3 million arrivals this year, may prove challenging, officials indicated, unless spending per visitor improves.

Tourism, once a key foreign exchange earner for the island nation, continues to recover from successive shocks, including the 2019 Easter attacks, COVID-19, and the 2022 economic crisis. But analysts note that sustained growth now depends not only on increasing arrivals, but also on boosting visitor spending and strengthening the sector’s data accuracy.

-ENCL

Editor_1
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