SL welcomes over 76,000 tourists in first 19 days of March

• Arrivals in first 19 days of March at 76,247, cumulative figure at 286,431 so far
• Traveller confidence, aggressive promotions, continued service from international airlines among key reasons for surge in March arrivals
• Tourist traffic in March largely influenced by Russia, followed by India, Germany, UK and France
• Russia dominates as top source market, surpasses 70,000 arrivals YTD

By Charumini de Silva

Sri Lanka has welcomed over 70,000 tourists during the first 19 days of the month, driving the growth momentum of the year.

A total of 76,247 tourists have already arrived in the country during the first 19 days of the month, pushing the year-to-date figure to 286,431 so far, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority data showed.

The arrival figures are largely influenced by the growing traveller confidence, aggressive tourism promotions, continued service from more international airlines, and the French women’s adventure trail ‘Raid Amazones’.

From 1 to 7 March, Sri Lanka received 27,573 tourists, from 8 to 14 March 29,466 and from 15 to 19 March 19,208, whilst also pushing the year-to-date arrivals to 264,022 which is a significant rebound from 2022.

The boost in arrivals was largely influenced by the Russian tourists, maintaining the lead ahead of India. Russia accounted for 16,588 or 22% of the total tourists, followed by India with 11,153 or 15%, Germany with 6,088 or 8%, the UK with 5,714 or 8%, and France with 3,813 or 5%.

For the first time after 2019, Sri Lanka Tourism recorded over 100,000 tourist arrivals in two consecutive months of 2023. February 2023 recorded a post-COVID all-time high of 107,639 breaking the previous record of 106,500 tourists in March 2022.

The influx of Russians places it to remain as the top tourist source market for Sri Lanka YTD with a cumulative number of arrivals at 70,926, followed by India with 38,626, the UK with 22,772, Germany with 22,235 and France with 14,771.

Tourism earnings in the first two months of 2023 were at $ 331.7 million reflecting a 3.3% increase from the corresponding period of last year, whilst February earnings stood at $ 169.9 million, as per the latest Central Bank data released.