Sri Lanka to lose US $ 15 million tourism revenue per week due to airspace closures in Middle East

4 March 2026 08:55 am Views - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}} 9 Bookmark

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Colombo, March 4 (Daily Mirror) - One-week closure of Middle East airspace will deny Sri Lanka US$ 15 million in tourism revenue, as around 30 percent of arrivals take place through that region, an official said.

Sri Lankan tourism authorities have assessed the possible implications for the tourism industry following the escalation of the war situation in the Middle East after the United States and Israel attacked Iran, which retaliated with a barrage of missile strikes on Israel and U.S. bases in the region.

Deputy Minister of Tourism Prof. Ruwan Ranasinghe told Daily Mirror yesterday that most tourists from the Western world travel to Sri Lanka through that region, and therefore the absence of airline operations would have a severe impact on the tourism industry here.

He said airlines such as Qatar Airways, Emirates, Flydubai and Etihad bring a significant number of tourists to Sri Lanka. Besides, he said there are around 10,000 tourists stranded in Sri Lanka, unable to return to their home countries because of the conflict.

“A lot of European tourists arrive here through transit at airports in the Middle East,” he said.

However, he said arrivals from countries such as India remain steady at the moment.

The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) said earlier that it remains steadfast in its commitment to ensuring the safety, security and well-being of all international tourists currently visiting the island. The government has authorized a free 14-day extension of visa validity for all tourists currently in the country.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Vijitha Herath said earlier that Sri Lanka received more than 2.36 million foreign tourists last year the highest figure recorded in a single year.

Tourism revenue totalled US$ 3.2 billion in 2025. It is currently one of the key foreign exchange earners for Sri Lanka.

Comments - 9

joshua Wednesday, 04 March 2026 09:07 AM

Yes, the impact will be enormous if the war goes on. BTW the meeting called by Sajith of all opposition parties will resolve the issue. Such is the stupidity of the opposition who do not know whether they are coming or going

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Lukas Wednesday, 04 March 2026 10:54 AM

@joshua - Yeah! Stupidity at its best. Your JVP comrades know everything. No need of any ideas from anyone. That is why we have great JVP economists who set up brown sugar outlets only to be shut down after few days of operation. Such economists attend the World Economic Forum and make Sri Lanka proud by answering difficult "quechcheons" that leaves the audience startled!!! You are right. Why do you need the opposition, noh?

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Hundu Pachatulla Wednesday, 04 March 2026 11:18 AM

Vikata Nayaka Sajith will now underscore the importance of local tourists (who were previously subjected to apartheid).

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Jude Wednesday, 04 March 2026 10:43 AM

Not only SL, it impacts everyone. Yeah.

2 5

Poonjab Wednesday, 04 March 2026 10:54 AM

Great, we'll be even more dependant on indain trash tourists.

8 7

Riad Wednesday, 04 March 2026 01:02 PM

It’s not fair to label any group of tourists in that way. Indian tourists contribute significantly to our tourism industry, just like visitors from other parts of the world. Every country has respectful and disrespectful individuals — it’s about personal behaviour, not nationality. In fact, Indian travelers often visit year-round, support local businesses, and share strong cultural ties with Sri Lanka. Instead of dividing tourists by nationality, we should focus on promoting responsible tourism from everyone, whether they are from India, Europe, China or anywhere else.

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Karalasingam Sivalingam Wednesday, 04 March 2026 12:52 PM

Tourism, tea, foreign employment, garment, hotel industry, support services of these services etc; affected severely. Public anger will rise over cost of living. It's going to be a testing time for the government.

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Cheers Wednesday, 04 March 2026 02:06 PM

It's not bad as covid the world was closed and the pandemic was well executed by then president Gotabaya Rajapakse and the government with the forces as one of the best 10 countries in the world. Now new government and the president show how you will manage this and I can tell you country will go back 50 years under your government

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Industrialised Nation Wednesday, 04 March 2026 04:05 PM

That's why going forward we need to focus and develop other channels of foreign exchange earnings. Agriculture and Tourism alone isn't enough. Set up IT parks, we need be industries and get in to manufacturing. Set a 25 year goal and horizon.

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