Tourist arrivals top 600,000 mark

Tuesday, 18 March 2025 03:23 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

YTD arrivals at 613,728 marks 16% YoY increase
First 16 days of March welcome 175,436 tourists
Daily arrivals rose from 6,526 to 7,547 compared to same period in 2024
India, Russia and UK emerge as top source markets YTD so far

In a promising start to the year, Sri Lanka has seen a remarkable uptick in visitor arrivals, exceeding 600,000 in the first half of March, boosting confidence in achieving the ambitious goal of 3 million tourists by year-end.

Sri Lanka welcomed a total of 613,728 visitors year-to-date (YTD), marking a 16% year-on-year (YoY) increase compared to the same period in 2024.

During the first 16 days, a total of 120,750 tourists were registered, while the daily arrival average also climbed to 7,547 — a 16% jump from 6,526 during the same period last year. However, compared to 8,863 arrivals in February, the average arrivals in March are slightly lower.

Despite this positive momentum, Sri Lanka Tourism faces a major challenge in meeting its 302,803 March target, with the country still requiring 182,053 more arrivals in the next 15 days. Adding to the concerns, the industry failed to meet its targets in the first two months of 2025, raising doubts about whether March will fare any better.

India remained the leading source market in March so far, contributing 19,317 visitors, followed by Russia with 16,562, and Germany with 10,982. The UK, which had ranked higher earlier in the year, fell to fourth place with 10,866 arrivals, while France ranked fifth with 9,031 visitors. Other key markets included China, Australia, the US, Poland, and the Netherlands.

India also leads cumulative arrivals with 98,420 visitors, followed by Russia at 80,953, and the UK at 58,124.

The industry insists that the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) must roll out its much delayed global campaign along with the free-visa push to continue the encouraging growth shown in early 2025 through the rest of the year as winter season comes to an end this month.

They also opined that authorities must now take the initiative to take full advantage of the international accolades and rankings of Sri Lanka as a destination, in implementing the promotional campaign to attract visitors during the off season.

For the full year, Sri Lanka aims to attract 3 million visitors and generate $ 5 billion in revenue — a target that will require sustained growth in the coming months.

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