Monday Aug 31, 2026
Monday Aug 31, 2026
Monday, 31 August 2026 00:28 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The Tourism Ministry will today (31) launch consultancies for the development of a Global Promotional Campaign Roadmap and the National Tourism Strategic Plan 2026–2030, with support from the World Bank’s Grant Facility for Project Preparation (GFPP).
The Ministry is expected to brief the media on the two initiatives, including their objectives and significance for the future development, competitiveness, and international promotion of the tourism industry.
The Global Promotional Campaign Roadmap is expected to provide the framework for Sri Lanka’s international tourism promotion, while the National Tourism Strategic Plan 2026–2030 will set the broader strategic direction for the sector over the next five years.
The initiatives come as Sri Lanka seeks to move beyond the post-pandemic recovery phase and establish a higher-growth tourism model, with the authorities targeting 2.7 million arrivals and around $ 4.2 billion in tourism revenue in 2026, followed by over 3 million visitors and $ 5 billion income next year.
The longer-term ambition is to raise tourism earnings towards $ 10 billion by 2030.
The timing of the strategic exercise is significant. Sri Lanka’s tourism earnings fell 11.5% year-on-year (YoY) to $ 1.79 billion in the first seven months of 2026, leaving the industry facing an increasingly difficult race to meet an ambitious revenue target amid renewed uncertainty in the Middle East (https://www.ft.lk/front-page/Tourism-earnings-fall-11-5---in-first-seven-months-to---1-79-b/44-796445). It is also interesting with arrivals from 1 January to 27 August 2026 standing at 1.52 million, about 2% below the comparable 2025 period.
The new roadmap and strategic plan therefore come at a critical juncture for the industry, as Sri Lanka seeks to translate the recovery in visitor numbers into stronger foreign exchange earnings, greater international competitiveness, and sustained growth over the remainder of the decade.
On 19 August, Sri Lanka Tourism announced launching a Rs. 1.5 billion interim tourism promotion campaign covering six priority markets. The interim public relations (PR) and digital campaign would run from August 2026 to April 2027, as the Government seeks to revive long-delayed international destination marketing (https://www.ft.lk/top-story/Rs--1-5-b-interim-tourism-campaign-kicks-off-ahead-of-global-brand-push/26-796239).
