SL aims to lure 1.5mn tourists in 2023, 3mn in 2024

The Tourism Ministry announced this week an ambitious target of luring 1.5 million international visitors to the country and fetching an income amounting to US $ 5 billion in 2023.

Tourism Minister Harin Fernando said that the aim is to double the arrivals to three billion in 2024, after which he is upbeat the hard-hit sector will achieve higher growth levels. Addressing a media briefing this week, Fernando said he is confident Sri Lanka would achieve the revised target set for the year 2022. The ministry revised the arrival target from 1000,000 to 800,000 for this year.

For the first 11 months of the year, Sri Lanka welcomed 628,071 visitors. The island nation would need to lure 171,929 tourists in December to achieve the target.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, arrivals to the island nation crossed 100,000 only in March 2022. From the following month, the arrival numbers remained at the levels of 20,000 to 40,000.  

Only in November, tourist arrivals to the country crossed the 50,000 mark for the first time since the eruption of the political and economic crisis in the country.

According to the minister, the 800,000 target will be realised with an increase in tourist arrivals expected from the UK, Germany, France and Russia for the remaining winter season.