Minister Eran Wickramaratne correct on tourism earnings

On 22 May 2019, Dinamina reported State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratne making the following statement.

Sri Lanka’s tourism sector accounts for 5% of gross domestic product.

To check this claim, we consulted the latest Annual Report from the Sri Lanka Central Bank (CBSL), from 2018. According to the CBSL annual report, earnings from tourism for 2018 were $4,381 million and GDP was $88,901 million. 

This means that earnings from tourism was 4.9% of GDP in 2018. 

Therefore, we have categorised the state finance minister’s statement as TRUE.

*FactCheck’s verdict is based on the most recent information that is publicly accessible. As with every fact check, if new information becomes available, FactCheck will revisit the assessment.

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