Sri Lanka’s tourism sector continued its robust rebound with over 61,000 arrivals in the first 10 days of November, bringing the year-to-date (YTD) to over 1.68 million.
These figures mark significant progress towards the 1.7 million arrivals mark for 2024, with the country poised for a busy winter season.
The early November influx included 42,148 tourists during the first week and another 6,021 between 8-10 November; indicating the sustained interest in Sri Lanka as a destination.
In addition, the daily average tourist arrivals have seen a notable increase, rising from 4,384 to 6,021. However, with Sri Lanka Tourism aiming to attract 198,069 visitors for November, it requires an average of nearly 6,700 tourists per day to meet this target.
Leading the charge in tourist traffic during the first 10 days was India, contributing 15,197 visitors, followed by Russia with 9,680 arrivals and Germany with 4,899 tourists. In addition tourists were welcomed from the UK, Australia, China, France, Poland, Maldives and Netherlands.
For the YTD, India remains Sri Lanka’s largest source market with 388,170 visitors, followed by the UK with 150,379 and Russia with 147,279.
With Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) expanding its airline roster to meet the increasing demand, a top official recently told the Daily FT that the country is well prepared for a bustling winter travel season.
At present, 28 scheduled airlines operate flights to Colombo, from 50 destinations across 26 countries, including key regions such as Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Europe and Africa.
Earnings from tourism crossed the 2.5 billion by end October, reflecting a high 59% year-on-year (YoY) increase though down by 28% from the best performing benchmark year 2018.
The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) and the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) have called on President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to prioritise the implementation of the global promotion campaign to boost awareness of the country as a premier tourist destination.
Lack of promotional activities or awareness initiatives of the country was highlighted as a key factor at the recently concluded first-ever South Asian Tourism Leadership Summit 2024 of the Sri Lanka Design Festival.
