Sri Lanka welcomed over 200,000 tourists for three consecutive months, marking a hat trick. February arrivals also set a new benchmark, beating the previous high of 210,352 recorded in December since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020.
The data reflects a sharp growth of 103% year-on-year (YoY), largely influenced by the winter season travel, enhanced connectivity and service from more airlines and growing traveller confidence following promotions. Nevertheless, the performance in February is still 7.3% lower compared to the 235,618 in the benchmark year 2018. “As per Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), earnings from the sector during the first two months estimated over $ 710 million. It is a significant leapfrog from where the industry was post-COVID and other crises. I hope this momentum will continue and be a record-breaking 2024,” Tourism Minister Harin Fernando told the Daily FT.
In February, an average of 7,529 tourists arrived in the country daily, as against the 6,717 daily average in January 2024.
However, Sri Lanka Tourism failed to achieve the set monthly target of 238,614 in February marking the second consecutive month.
The first week of February saw 52,361 tourists and the trend picked up in the second and third weeks to 55,537 and 52,266 respectively, whilst peaking during the fourth week with 58,186 visitors.
Russia dominated arrivals in February securing the top source market for Sri Lanka with 32,030 tourists, followed by India with 30,027, UK with 20,614, Germany with 16,259 and China with 14,836. In addition, tourists were also received from countries such as France, Poland, Australia, US and Netherlands.
For 2024, Sri Lanka Tourism has set an ambitious target to welcome 2.3 million tourists and earn over $ 4.5 billion.
India maintains its position as the top tourist source market for Sri Lanka year-to-date (YTD), with a cumulative total of 64,426 arrivals, followed by Russia with 63,189, UK with 37,279, Germany with 29,852 and China with 26,347 arrivals.
