Tourism sector hits new milestone with strong January arrivals

6 February 2025 02:00 am Views - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}} 4 Bookmark

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Tourists seen at Independence Square on Sri Lanka’s 77th Independence Day
PIC BY NIMALSIRI EDIRISINGHE

Sri Lanka’s tourism sector, having overcome multiple challenges over the past five years, has reached a new milestone, with tourist arrivals in January hitting an all-time high for the month.

The island nation began the year with a strong momentum, welcoming over 250,000 international visitors.

The provisional data from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) shows that a total of 252,761 tourists arrived in the country in January.

This marks a 21 percent increase compared to January 2024 and a 5.8 percent rise from January 2018, which had previously been regarded as the best year for tourism in Sri Lanka, closing with 2.33 million arrivals.

With this achievement, January 2025 now ranks as the second highest month for tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka’s history. The highest figure recorded to date was in December 2018, with 253,169 arrivals.

In January 2025, the daily average number of arrivals rose to 8,153, while the weekly average stood at 63,190.

India maintained its position as Sri Lanka’s largest source of tourist traffic, accounting for 17.2 percent of total arrivals. The Russian Federation ranked second, with 13.5 percent, followed by the United Kingdom at 8.6 percent.

The other key source markets included China, Germany, France, Australia, Poland, the United States and Netherlands.

For 2025, the SLTDA has set a target of attracting three million international visitors and generating US $ 5 billion in revenue.

The SLTDA is yet to release its official monthly targets or projected growth scenarios for the year. Historically, higher tourist arrivals are expected in January, February, March, July, August and December.

Comments - 4

Amaran Thursday, 06 February 2025 07:46 AM

However, this rate of arrival may not be maintained throughout the year. The government should NOT take any credit for the current boom. Because JVP was responsible for destroying tourism because of their ANTI WESTERN mindset. AKD should be held responsible for the the unrest they created. It is Former President RW who took initiative to build tourism in our country.

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Ram P Thursday, 06 February 2025 07:58 AM

This is likely to include many expats who arrived using their foreign passports. They are also foreigners but may will not spend the usual money spent by tourists

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Masala Thursday, 06 February 2025 08:52 AM

Thank you Seeya. If not for you, only those some foreigners who were coming to cover the Galle Face Aragalaya will be the tourists we have in the country.

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tourism Friday, 07 February 2025 06:32 AM

Despite spending lots of money on advertising and using influencers on youtube etc. to speak highly about their visit to this country seeking some cheap publicity far fewer foreign tourists visit Sri Lanka compared to other countries in South and South East Asia.

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