Tourism grows 11.6% to $ 4.3 b

• Remittances reduce 2.1% to $ 7 b in 2018, 13% YoY decline to $564 m in Dec.
• Tourist arrivals up 3.5% in Dec., 2.3 m arrivals total in 2018

Tourist earnings rose to $ 4,381 million in 2018, in comparison to $ 3,925 million in 2017, the Central Bank said this week but workers remittances declined by 2.1% to $ 7 billion last year.  

Workers’ remittances in December 2018 declined by 13%, year-on-year, to $ 584 million. On a cumulative basis, workers’ remittances recorded a decline of 2.1% to $ 7,015 million in 2018, from $ 7,164 million in 2017.

Tourist arrivals recorded a growth of 3.5% in December 2018, resulting in a total of 2.3 million arrivals during 2018, compared to 2.1 million arrivals in 2017. Tourist arrivals from all major regions, except East Asia and the Middle East, increased in 2018.

India remained as the leading source country for tourist arrivals in 2018, while China remained the second largest origin, albeit with a marginal decline, followed by the UK, Germany, and Australia.

With the growth in tourist arrivals, and an increase in estimated average spending by tourists, earnings from tourism recorded a healthy growth of 11.6% during 2018.