Tourist arrivals in first 19 days exceed 60,000

Monday, 23 January 2023 00:40 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

SL welcomes 62,334 tourists; significant rebound from 2022
Daily average arrivals pick up to 3,281 from 2,000 level in last year
Russia tops arrivals with 15,572, followed by India with 7,853, and Germany with 5,668

Tourists strolling in the city – Pic by Shehan Gunasekera

Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka have exceeded 60,000 in the first 19 days reinforcing the industry’s optimism.

From 1 to 19 January, Sri Lanka received a record 62,334 tourists, a significant rebound from 2022.

As per the latest data released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), a total of 20,875 travellers arrived in the first week, while 23,295 in the second week and 10,445 in the other three days, the provisional data released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority showed.

The boost in arrivals was largely influenced by the Russian tourist, maintaining the lead ahead of India. Daily arrivals have also reached 3,281 compared to over 2,000 levels last year showing a significant improvement.

Russia accounted for 15,572 or 25% of the total tourists, followed by India with 7,853 or 13%, Germany 5,668 or 9%, UK with 5,033 or 8%, and France with 2,799 or 4%.

Last week, Tourism Minister Harin Fernando said Sri Lanka will likely meet its arrivals target of 105,000 for this month, whilst expressing confidence that the set target of 1.55 million visitors by end 2023 is possible with an income of $ 2.88 billion.

Originally for 2023, Sri Lanka Tourism set an ambitious target of 1.5 million arrivals and an income of $ 5 billion by attracting high-end travellers who spend over $ 400 per day from the current $ 200.

Despite it being a ‘crisis year’ Sri Lanka ended 2022 with 719,978 tourists, up by 207% over 2021. Though missing the original target of 750,000 arrivals, the Minister said the provisional data shows that the earnings target of $ 1.2 billion was achieved last year.