Sri Lanka Tourism has been able to generate a whopping $ 342 million in January 2024 which is 122.7% of cumulation Year-on Year (Y-o-Y), the latest statistics of Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) shows.
CBSL stated, โEarnings from tourism recorded the highest monthly value in January 2024 since January 2020.โ
It further said that the estimated tourism earnings from the previous month (December 2023) was $ 269 million and $154 million in January 2023.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) indicates in its monthly tourist arrivals report that Sri Lanka witnessed 208 253 tourists arrivals during the month of January 2024 which is a 103.08% increase Y-o-Y.
The SLTDA report indicated that the majority of arrivals were reported from Europe representing 60.3% of total arrivals, while Asia and the Pacific contributed to 33.1% of visitors.
โThe surge in tourism owes to rising demand from India, Russia, Germany, the UK, and China, bolstering Sri Lanka’s tourism. The Americas comprised 5% of arrivals while the Middle East and Africa contributed 1.1% and 0.4% respectively, shaping Sri Lanka’s tourism distinctively,โ the aforesaid report noted.
Whereas top 10 potential markets for Sri Lanka during the said period were indicated as Spain, Japan, South Korea, Hungary, Ukraine, Belgium, Norway, Malaysia and Taiwan.
The top potential markets for the island have been identified using visitor arrivals data while its intention is to track these source markets on a go-forward basis to understand future performance of Sri Lankaโs tourism economy, including during the projected international tourism recovery period, 2022-2025.
Moreover, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) Chairman, Chalaka Gajabahu told the press that the Sri Lanka Tourism app developed with the support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is to be launched towards the end of March this year as 75% of the app has been completed.
Ishara Hewage
