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Tourists sightseeing in Colombo – Pic by Pradeep Pathirana
By Charumini de Silva
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry has registered a robust upturn, surpassing over $ 2 billion in earnings, accompanied by the arrival of over 1.48 million visitors in 2023.
The tourism industry’s 2023 performance marks a significant milestone by registering the highest revenue and influx of visitors to Sri Lanka since 2019.
The latest data from the Central Bank reveals an impressive 82% surge in tourism earnings compared to the previous year.
In December 2023, earnings reached $ 269.3 million, witnessing a substantial 111.4% year-on-year (YoY) increase. Despite falling short of the monthly arrivals target, December secured the highest monthly earnings and arrivals during 2023.
Initially projecting to attract 1.55 million tourists and $ 3 billion in earnings, Sri Lanka Tourism revised the target to 2 million amid a surge in arrivals in July.
However, figures were later reviewed back to the original target, with earnings projection adjusted to $ 2.7 billion.
Although 2023 fell short of set targets for both arrivals and earnings by 4.5% and 24%, respectively, the industry exhibited a robust comeback after a three-year hiatus marked by setbacks such as the Easter Sunday terror attacks in 2019, the COVID pandemic in 2020-2021 and the political turmoil and economic crisis in 2022.
Looking ahead to 2024, Sri Lanka Tourism has set ambitious targets, aiming to welcome 2.5 million tourists and earn $ 4.6 billion. Furthermore, the long-term strategy envisions increasing arrivals to 5 million and generating an impressive $ 21.6 billion within five years.
As part of this strategy, the focus is on welcoming high-end tourists, with plans to lift the average spending per visitor to $ 4,000. The SLTDA aims for 2.5 million visitors to spend over $ 500 per day, emphasising a concentration on attracting high-spending repeat visitors, which currently account for around 33-35% of tourists.
Sri Lanka’s tourism, which experienced its highest growth of 46.1% in 2010 after the end of a 30-year conflict, faced downward trends in subsequent years. However, the positive growth of 26.7% in 2013 marked a turning point after a decade-long descending trend.
With positivity, the industry looks forward with optimism, fuelled by the recent success and ambitious targets set for the coming years.
