As a result of a notable revival in tourist arrivals Sri Lanka’s tourism earnings in the halfway stage of the year passed the USD 1.5 billion mark (1,556.6) from January to June 2024 showing a huge 77.9% increase compared to the same period in 2023 which was at USD 875 million.
Every month too, earnings in June which was USD 151.1 million was higher than USD 122.9 registered in May 2024. This trend was expected to continue with tourist arrivals from July 1 to 4, 2024 registering 21,298 with the total arrivals totaling 1,031,547.
The top arrival destination for Sri Lanka was India accounting for 189,713 visitors while the Russian Federation was second with 114,631 while the United Kingdom (91,093) Germany (70,948) and China (65,238) were third, fourth and fifth.
