Inadequate state backing for charter flights threatens tourism revenue amid Middle East crisis

By Nishel Fernando

The Sri Lankan tourism sector is grappling with missed economic opportunities, due to inadequate state backing for charter flight operations during the crucial transition into the off-season.

As the April arrivals dipped below the Maldives, the regional competitor, the local hoteliers and industry authorities are increasingly echoing the need for stronger, coordinated aviation interventions to prevent a severe slump in footfall.

Reflecting the growing frustrations within the local hospitality industry over this unfulfilled potential, Araliya Hotels CEO Ruwan Kalugala Muhandiram pointed to the direct impact of the policy gap. 

“If the government had helped us in the tourism sector at this time for the charter flight operations, we could have gotten a much better result,” Muhandiram told Mirror Business on the sidelines of a recent event.

The current slowdown in Sri Lankan arrivals is heavily exacerbated by the ongoing geopolitical conflict in the Middle East. Sri Lanka’s historical reliance on the Gulf-based transit hubs has left the local hospitality industry highly exposed to airspace disruptions, escalating the jet fuel prices and subsequent flight cancellations by major commercial carriers. 

When the regular commercial frequencies adjusted downward, due to these regional tensions, Sri Lanka lacked the coordinated charter flight mechanisms and direct alternative routes needed to plug the gap.

In stark contrast, the Maldives demonstrated remarkable strategic agility by proactively coordinating with the airlines to deploy alternative flight paths and aggressively securing direct charter connections from resilient, high-yield markets like Russia and China.

The lack of an aggressive, pre-planned aviation strategy is starkly reflected in the latest arrival statistics, where the Maldives successfully overtook Sri Lanka. 

Up to April 26, Sri Lanka recorded 117,893 tourist arrivals. This represents a sharp 21.2 percent year-on-year contraction, compared to 174,608 arrivals recorded during the same month last year.  Conversely, the Maldives secured 137,954 tourist arrivals for the month up to April 28, successfully retaining high volumes from major charter-reliant markets.

This disparity in securing continuous flights has led to an alarming divergence in tourism earnings. While the Maldives generated a staggering US $ 843.83 million in travel receipts in February 2026, marking a 48.8 percent increase from the previous month, Sri Lanka’s tourism earnings have trended downward, falling to US $ 352 million in the same period.

Addressing the macroeconomic realities impacting the sector, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority and Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Chairman Buddhika Hewawasam conceded that the external factors such as the spike in jet fuel prices, have decreased flight frequencies and inflated the ticket costs. 

He stressed the need to find alternatives and actively support charter operations to maintain a continuous flow of tourists.

Meanwhile, Hewawasam confirmed that the authorities are actively appointing digital and public relations agencies across major source markets, rolling out a targeted interim promotional campaign towards the end of May, focusing heavily on the Asia-Pacific region to capture the short-haul alternative markets.

However, with the peak season already concluded and global operators having largely finalised their immediate schedules, the industry stakeholders fear these promotional efforts are materialising too late to effectively buffer the current off-season shock.