May achieves monthly arrivals target regardless of season

Tuesday, 30 May 2023 01:48 -     - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

  • SL welcomes 75,769 tourists in first 28 days of May, pushing YTD figure to 516,946
  • India remains top source market in May so far; Russia, Germany, UK, Australia follows
  • Russia remains top tourist source market for Sri Lanka YTD with 101,419 visitors, followed by India, UK, Germany, France
  • SL currently leads with 55,375 arrivals advantage of its YTD target to reach set 2023 target

Despite it being an off-peak month, May achieved its monthly arrivals target comfortably. The strong tourism rebound is expected to continue well into 2023 regardless of global pressures and challenges.

Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka so far were at 516,946, with 75,769 travellers arriving in the country during the first 28 days of the month. 

Only 220 tourists are required to achieve the monthly target of 75,989. Against this backdrop, the data suggests that the industry is really pushing to continue the trend into the second half of the year.

India topped the tourist inflow reflecting 28% or 20,971 of the total traffic generated in the month, followed by Russia with 9% or 6,872, Germany with 8% or 6,362, the UK with 7% or 5,464, and Australia with 5% or 3,897. In addition, travellers from China, Canada, US, Maldives and France were welcomed in Sri Lanka.

As per the prediction of the SLTDA, Sri Lanka should reach a target of 461,571 by the end of the first five months, and at present it leads with 55,375 arrivals advantage.

Russia remains strong as the top tourist source market for Sri Lanka YTD with 20% or 101,419 visitors followed by India with 17% or 87,318, the UK with 8% or 42,318, Germany with 8% or 39,615 and France with 5% or 24,474.

Earnings from the tourism industry were nearly $ 700 million in the first four months of 2023, in tandem with over 100,000 visitors Sri Lanka welcomed from January to April.

Tourism earnings in the first four months of 2023 were at $ 696.3 million, reflecting a 17.8% increase from the corresponding period of last year, whilst April earnings stood at $ 166.5 million, the Central Bank data showed.

Despite the multiple challenges faced, the tourism industry remains optimistic as they ramp up efforts to achieve the set targets of 2 million arrivals and over $ 2 billion in revenue to overcome the economic woes. 

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