T20 World Cup and Sri Lanka’s tourism promotion

The ongoing ICC T20 World Cup – co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka – has created an atmosphere of excitement and frenzy in the island as the country is hosting a major sporting event after a long period of time. A large number of Irish tourists was seen among the crowds who watched the game between Sri Lanka and Ireland last Sunday and the confirmation of the clash between India and Pakistan has already raised the excitement associated with the tournament. 

Sri Lanka does not get the chance to host international sporting events regularly and hence this is a good opportunity to promote the island’s attraction as a tourist destination among travellers with high spending capacity.

Last time Sri Lanka hosted an international event of this magnitude was in 2012 when the T20 World Cup was held entirely in the country. Unfortunately, it is questionable whether the tourism promotion authorities pay adequate attention to integrate such events into long-term promotion initiatives. The absence of planners with vision and foresight has always stifled the progress of many sectors of the economy and tourism is no exception.    

Integrating international sporting events to tourism promotion activities in a thoughtful manner is imperative at a time when analysts and observers have expressed disappointment about the level of tourism income despite the growth in arrivals. Earnings from tourism amounted to $ 3.22 billion last year, compared to $ 3.17 billion in 2024, recording a year-on-year growth of 1.6%. During the same period, tourist arrivals rose to more than 2.36 million in 2025, up from 2.05 million arrivals in 2024, reflecting a 15.1% year-on-year increase. Thus, tourism earnings per visitor declined from $ 1,543 in 2024 to $ 1,363 in 2025. A volume-driven strategy in the model of Bangkok and Bali is not ideal for a geographically small country like us, hence; we need to develop a strategy which maximises earnings per visitor through proper planning and shrewd marketing strategies.

It has been observed that unlike in the past, the majority of the visitors to Sri Lanka come from places like India, China, and Russia whose average length of the stay is shorter, and spending is less than traditional European travellers. The industry as well as the economy would be best served by enhancing the income generated through tourists instead of being satisfied by merely increasing the number of visitors. Such an approach requires tourists to get exposed to more enhanced offerings and activities. 

In 1998, Malaysia used Commonwealth Games as part of Malaysia’s broader strategy to position itself as a modern, world-class destination and reinforced Malaysia’s emerging global tourism brand – “Malaysia, Truly Asia”. The games were strategically used as a tourism and nation-branding platform, not just a sporting event. The enormous international exposure the country receives from worldwide media coverage of an event like the T20 World Cup provides an excellent opportunity to showcase the island’s appealing tourism offerings without having to spend a lot of money. Nevertheless, the extent to which efforts are undertaken to position Sri Lanka as a sought-after travel destination by capitalising on the widespread media exposure associated with international events of this nature are not satisfactory to say the least. 

It is high time that policymakers make use of international sporting events as part of Sri Lanka’s long-term strategic initiatives to position the island as a tourist destination among high-spending travellers to overcome the stagnation of the industry in terms of its economic outcomes.