Tourist arrivals cross 250,000

Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga

Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka have exceeded 250,000 so far, despite the challenges emanating from the global COVID pandemic.

As per provisional data released by the Tourism Ministry yesterday, Sri Lanka has received 250,881 travellers as of 20 March.

“We have welcomed over 250,000 tourists so far this year, which is a significant achievement,” Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said.

During the first 20 days of March, a total of 72,047 tourists visited Sri Lanka, with an average of over 3,600 tourists per day.

India has regained its glory as the top tourist source market for Sri Lanka with 40,402, followed by Russia with 36,257, UK 25,561, Germany 19,804 and Ukraine 13,354.

In addition, tourists were also received from countries such as France, Poland, Kazakhstan, US, Canada and Czech Republic as of 20 March.