Sri Lanka has reached a significant milestone, surpassing 1.6 million tourist arrivals for the year, with over 117,000 visitors registered in the first 27 days of October.
Despite this positive momentum, industry stakeholders believe the numbers could have been higher if not for recent challenges, including visa processing delays and travel advisories from foreign missions warning of potential security threats in Arugam Bay.
The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) had initially targeted 2.3 million arrivals for 2024, based on the benchmark set in 2018, along with a projected revenue of $ 4.5 billion.
However, SLTDA Chairman Buddhika Hewawasam recently suggested that these expectations were overly optimistic given current circumstances. Instead, Hewawasam now anticipates 2 million arrivals and just over $ 3 billion in revenue by year’s end.(https://www.ft.lk/top-story/Tourism-industry-unfazed-by-security-warnings-SLTDA-Chief/26-768463)
Tourist arrivals in October were on an upward trajectory during the first three weeks, with 29,815 visitors in the first week, 30,103 in the second, and 30,751 in the third. However, arrivals fell to 26,472 between 22-27 October following a security advisory issued by Colombo-based embassies, which warned of a potential threat in Arugam Bay.
India continues to be the largest source market, contributing 32,097 tourists or 27.4% of October’s arrivals, followed by the UK with 9,113 visitors (7.8%) and China with 7,609 tourists (6.5%).
Despite the challenges, Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is performing better than in the past five years, with $ 2.34 billion in revenue generated during the first nine months of 2024 — a 61.2% increase over the same period last year.
Looking ahead, the new administration of the SLTDA has set an ambitious five-year target to attract 5 million tourists and generate $ 8.5 billion in revenue, driven by consistent annual growth.
FT