Tourist arrivals cross 600,000 mark within three months

1 April 2024 07:50 am Views - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}} 7 Bookmark

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Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka surged past the 600,000 mark by 27 March, in nearly half the time compared to last year.

Provisional data from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) revealed that tourist arrivals reached 608,475 in the first 27 days of March. By contrast, in 2023, the country reached the 600,000 mark towards the end of June.

Compared to the arrivals before the Covid pandemic and the Easter Sunday attacks, Sri Lanka successfully crossed the 700,000 mark by the end of March in 2018 and 2019.

As of March 27, 2024, Sri Lanka has welcomed a total of 181,872 international visitors. The weekly arrival average is about 46,000, with a daily average of about 6,700. At the current rate, tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka are projected to just about cross the 200,000 mark in March. Analysis of tourist arrival rates from 2015 shows that from the third month of the year, the influx of international visitors typically experiences a slowdown until the month of July.

Taking the lead as the largest tourist traffic generator for March 2024 is India, accounting for 16 percent of the total arrivals. Ranking second is the Russian Federation, bringing in 14 percent of the total arrivals. In third place is Germany, accounting for 9 percent of the tourist arrivals. Following closely in fourth position is the United Kingdom, whereas in fifth position is China.
According to latest Central Bank data, earnings from tourism for the first two months of the year totalled US$ 687 million. This marks a 118.2 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth compared with the corresponding period of the previous year.

Comments - 7

More Improvements Needed for their Return Monday, 01 April 2024 09:56 AM

Hope they return in the near future. Still the basics such as more toilets being installed at tourist and places of worship needs to be added. Hygiene and cleanliness standards in accommodation facilities for tourist too be improved as most are still below other Asian countries. Have the SL embassies to promote SL regularly via the various channels in their host countries. Every dollar earn will benefit the country and with the positive hospitality of the people, these tourist will spread it back in their homeland.

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S.K Kumara Tuesday, 02 April 2024 04:29 AM

These are the types of tourists who arrive here to get away from the war zones and some are just as filthy as Sri Lankans hygiene isn't a priority for them. Black crows only hover over rotten meat, didn't you know that ?

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dcol Monday, 01 April 2024 02:55 PM

Now this is like COVID patient count - Tourist arrival published daily/weekly basis? What we really need is to check how much economic value they bring and determine are they the right type of tourists for our economy?

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SL still Having Challenges Tuesday, 02 April 2024 03:06 AM

That’s a challenge SL is having. With every country especially in Asia eyeing for the tourist dollar, the standards and facilities offered may not be enough for high end tourism. Places in Maldives, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore etc are cashing in on these high end tourist by offering experiences which are high end in comparison with SL.

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Mohamed Burhan Tuesday, 02 April 2024 05:32 AM

Great more than 6 lakhs in 27 days!! Finally Sri Lankans will not have a place to sleep in the night

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Percy Wijenayake Tuesday, 02 April 2024 11:53 AM

I fully support the writer on the urgent necessity of clean toilets with toilet paper and drinking water availability throughout the country. A person may have to be employed to distribute paper and maintain cleanliness. A donation from tourists to be encouraged.

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THESE NUMBERS ABOVE MEAN NOTHING TO THE MASSES WHO HAVE NO PROOF THAT ALL THESE 600,000 TOURIST BROUGHT IN X AMOUNT OF DOLLARS INTO THE COUNTRY. Tuesday, 02 April 2024 12:17 PM

WHAT A JOKE CHINA COMING IN 5TH. WHAT ABOUT THE HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS WHO HAVE ARRIVED THROUGH THE YEARS AS SO CALLED TOURISTS AND OR FOR WORK IN PROJECTS CHINA SPONSORED/LOANED THE TOTAL COST AND BROUGHT IN THEIR WORKERS. SINCE THEM MOST ARE MARRIED TO VILLAGES AND CONTINUED TO RESIDE IN THE COUNTRY. OTHERS HAVE JOINED THE ILLEGAL BUSINESSES USING A LOCAL AS A FORNT. CHINA IS ONLY RAMPING UP THEIR FORCE IN THE COUNTRY FOR THEIR OWN AGENDA.

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