Tourism earnings strengthen further despite March low levels

Earnings from tourism displayed continued strengthening despite some softening from March. Arrivals eased last month but the momentum persists, projecting robust earnings from the trade which once saw a prolonged decline due to repeated crises from 2019 onwards through 2022.

The tourism trade generated earnings of US$ 225.7 million April, down from US$ 338.4 million, but up from US$ 148.2 million a year ago.

Arrivals softened somewhat in April to 148,867 from 209,181 in March which contributed to the pullback in April.

Tourist arrivals and its earnings to Sri Lanka have been on a tear as the island nation was anyway a preferred leading destination for travel by the global travellers.

Leading global travel publications also featured Sri Lanka among the top destinations for people to travel due to its offerings.

The trade met with some slowdown in 2019 due to Easter bombings before it was nearly decimated by the two years of pandemic, and then by the so-called Aragalaya.

Though global travellers wanted to come to Sri Lanka for their holidays, Lankans have been taking flights in the opposite direction as they were flying in search of better jobs and living conditions for good. At least a million or more people left the country from 2021 to-date, fleeing horrible economic and living conditions.

So far this month, Sri Lanka has seen over 22,000 tourist arrivals and it is well on course towards the 200,000 mark by the end of this month, provided no negative happening.

Sri Lanka targets 2.4 million arrivals in 2024 and US$ 4.0 billion in earnings from the trade, closing in on the highest levels seen back in 2018.