Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals have shown strong growth, rising 18% year-on-year (YoY) in the first 26 days of November with 156,174 visitors registered.
This has also propelled the year-to-date (YTD) arrivals to surpass 1.77 million, marking a 41% YoY increase compared to the same period in 2023. Sri Lanka needs to woo another 223,111 tourists in the next month to reach its annual goal of two million arrivals.
The daily arrival average climbed to 6,007 — an 18% jump from 5,105 during the same period last year and significantly higher than October’s 4,384 average.
The industry analysts opined that if the current pace continues, Sri Lanka could see just over 180,000 arrivals in November though still missing the monthly target of 155,070 set by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA). The country requires nearly 10,473 daily arrivals to reach the monthly target.
October registered a 25% YoY increase to 135,907 arrivals, rebounding from September’s single-digit growth, the first slowdown for the year amid visa crisis and travel advisories.
India remained the leading source market in November, contributing 32,306 visitors, followed by Russia with 25,573 and Germany with 11,394. The UK which had ranked higher earlier in the year fell to fourth place with 10,268 arrivals, while Australia ranked fifth with 6,446 visitors. Other key markets included China, France, Poland, the US and the Netherlands.
India also leads the cumulative arrivals with 357,279 visitors, followed by Russia at 163,172 and the UK at 156,938.
Analysts predict tourist arrivals could exceed two million by year end, slightly below the original target of 2.3 million. “Despite this, consistent growth trajectory reflects strong recovery in the tourism sector, driven by robust demand from traditional and emerging markets.
Sri Lanka Tourism is also leveraging the country’s year-round appeal to attract a diverse mix of visitors with a new national branding campaign which is set to be launched in January 2025. Looking ahead, the sector’s focus will be on capitalising on its momentum by implementing targeted marketing campaigns and improving infrastructure to meet the growing demand.
